[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 117 (Friday, September 24, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1695]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       SUPPORTING TAIWAN'S EFFORT TO RETURN TO THE UNITED NATIONS

                                 ______
                                 

                           HON. NICK LAMPSON

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 23, 2004

  Mr. LAMPSON. Mr. Speaker, in seeking to return to the United Nations, 
the Republic of China on Taiwan will once again ask diplomatic allies 
to present its case before the United Nations this fall. I am in total 
sympathy with Taiwan's effort. Taiwan is the only nation not 
represented in the U.N. Taiwan's exclusion from the U.N. violates the 
principles and spirit of the U.N. Charter, especially the fundamental 
principle of universality and the Universal Declaration of Human 
Rights.
  As we all know, the U.N. Charter demands that this global body 
welcome the participation of all people, including the 23 million 
people of Taiwan. Those who object to Taiwan's participation in the 
U.N. argue that U.N. Resolution 2758, adopted in 1971, makes the 
People's Republic of China the legitimate representative of Taiwan. The 
fact is that the PRC has never exercised jurisdiction over Taiwan. It 
is absurd to claim that the PRC can speak for a land and people over 
which it has no control. If the United Nations is founded on the 
principle of the equality of sovereign nations, it has no reason not to 
recognize Taiwan's sovereignty as an independent nation. It must and 
should give Taiwan representation.
  Moreover, as we live in an era of the ascendancy of democracy and 
human rights, we must see that Taiwan has been a vibrant democracy with 
a democratically elected president and legislature. Taiwan's government 
upholds human rights. Its citizens enjoy freedom of assembly, 
association and religion. Free nations of the world cannot allow 
Taiwan, a beacon of democracy, to be subdued by an authoritarian China.
  Besides being a multiparty democracy, Taiwan is an economic 
powerhouse, now ranking as the world's 14th largest economy. It has the 
potential to be a valuable party to ensure peace, security and progress 
in the Pacific region. Clearly it does not serve anyone's interest to 
keep Taiwan out of the United Nations. Also, as Asian-Pacific nations 
are confronted with problems of environmental degradation, greenhouse 
effects, depletion of marine and other resources, poverty and disease, 
Taiwan could play a significant role in grappling with some of these 
concerns if it were allowed to work with the United Nations and its 
agencies. No such opportunity avails Taiwan today.
  Mr. Speaker, I truly believe that Taiwan has been poorly treated by 
the United Nations. Taiwan has been a responsible global citizen for 
years. It has done a good job, for example, in helping to resettle 
refugees in Afghanistan, in preventing AIDS in Africa and in 
dispatching numerous technical and medical teams to developing 
countries in Latin America and Africa. U.N. should recognize and reward 
Taiwan's global outreach to needy countries.
  Maybe the solution is parallel representation for both Taiwan and the 
People's Republic of China on the pattern of the previous East and West 
Germanys and the North and South Koreas. Such an arrangement would 
provide Taiwan and China with a forum for dialogue whereby they may 
forge closer ties based on mutual understanding and respect, leading to 
permanent peace in the Taiwan Strait.
  For all the reasons named above, my colleagues and I urge the United 
Nations to consider Taiwan's bid to return to the U.N. with thought and 
wisdom.

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