(Last Monday the United Nations rejected Taiwan's latest application to become a member of the world body). When Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian received a vice chancellor and a professor of Pepperdine University on May 22, he said Taiwan had no intention of challenging the "one China" principle. However, sticking to the "one China" principle has by no means solved the question of how 23 million Taiwanese people should be represented in the United Nations, since the People's Republic of China cannot represent Taiwan.
According to a June survey of public opinion conducted by the Institute for National Policy Research in Taiwan, 71 percent of the Taiwanese people favor Taiwan joining the U.N. under the name "Taiwan." Meanwhile, 87 percent of the Taiwanese people perceive that Taiwan, being an independent sovereign state, does not need to acquire any prior consent from China to join international organizations. In addition, 77 percent of the Taiwanese people do not agree that Taiwan is a part of the PRC.
In a democratic country like Taiwan, any important decision-making process must take into account the will of the majority of the people. The Taiwanese government has heard the people's voice for too long, loud and clear, on the U.N. issue. The Taiwanese people are proud of their democracy and firmly believe that Taiwan deserves a due place in the U.N. Despite constant and intensified objection by the PRC, the Taiwanese people will strive to join the U.N.
The U.N. General Assembly will convene in September. It is our hope that the Assembly will re-examine the issue of Taiwan's representation and include it on the assembly's agenda. We also sincerely hope that democratic Japan will support democratic Taiwan in this regard.
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