[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 153 (2007), Part 17]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 23860]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




 THE UNITED NATIONS OFFICE OF LEGAL AFFAIRS REJECTED TAIWAN'S BID FOR 
                               MEMBERSHIP

                                 ______
                                 

                             HON. BILL SALI

                                of idaho

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, September 6, 2007

  Mr. SALI. Madam Speaker, the United Nations Office of Legal Affairs 
(OLA) rejected Taiwan's bid for membership, according to a July 23 
statement posted on the U.N. Chinese language website. The OLA said its 
decision was based on U.N. Resolution 2758, which recognized the U.N.'s 
``one China'' policy.
  The U.N. Secretariat's rejection of Taiwan's application was reactive 
and hasty. It should allow Taiwan's application to be duly processed in 
accordance with the relevant rules of procedure of the United Nations. 
Also, I believe that the OLA's reference to U.N. Resolution 2758 as a 
basis for rejecting Taiwan's bid was anachronistic.
  Resolution 2758 assumes that the People's Republic of China has legal 
jurisdiction over Taiwan. This is a dubious assertion. Taiwan has been 
independent of the PRC since 1949, and in recent years has had a robust 
political system characterized by competitive parties, active public 
participation and political liberty--values all Americans embrace.
  It is unreasonable to claim that the PRC presumes to 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 as an independent nation. On that 
basis it would seem that the U.N. must and should give Taiwan 
representation.
  As noted, Taiwan in 2007 is free and democratic. In Taiwan, direct 
presidential elections have been held, political parties are 
proliferating and Taiwan has become one of the freest countries in 
Asia. As the U.N. claims to be the forum for resolving international 
differences, it should give fair and thorough consideration to Taiwan's 
application for membership in the United Nations and letting the 23 
million people of Taiwan have due representation in that world body.
  I presume that Taiwan will probably not succeed in joining the United 
Nations this year, but Taiwan's case is compelling. It is unfortunate 
that Taiwan has been treated so poorly by the United Nations. We ask 
the U.N. Secretariat to rescind its rejection of Taiwan's application 
and let the application go forward to the Security Council and the U.N. 
General Assembly for a vote.

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