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U.N. bid referendum not aimed at declaring independence: Taiwan rep

ROC Central News Agency

2007-12-19 12:28:18

    Washington, Dec. 18 (CNA) Taiwan's planned referendum on applying to join the United Nations under the name Taiwan is not intended to declare independence or disrupt the status quo across the Taiwan Strait, Taiwan's representative to the United States Joseph Wu said Tuesday.

    Wu stressed the referendum will allow the Taiwan people to exercise their democratic rights and that the vote will only address the issue of Taiwan's U.N. membership, rather than changing the country's official name.

    Noting that Beijing has been using U.N. Resolution 2758 -- which recognizes the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China at the United Nations -- to pressure the world body to reject Taiwan, Wu claimed the resolution does not grant China the right to represent the Taiwan people.

    Wu said the United Nations' refusal to consider Taiwan's membership application is frustrating to the Taiwan people but has not dampened their desire to join the world body.

    In addition to the referendum initiated by the ruling Democratic Progressive Party on using the name Taiwan to join the United Nations, the opposition Kuomintang is also pushing a referendum on U.N. membership for Taiwan under a different name, he pointed out.

    Wu made the remarks while delivering a keynote speech entitled "Taiwan's United Nations Bid: Domestic Democracy or International Crisis" at the Heritage Foundation in Washington, D.C.

    Asked how U.S. concerns over the referendum are being addressed, Wu reiterated that the United States is Taiwan's most important friend and that Taiwan understands Washington's worries about the possible outbreak of cross-strait conflict.

    Based on this reason, Taiwan has made it clear since 2000 that the country will not declare independence, change its official name, or hold a referendum on the unification versus independence issue, Wu said, adding that the U.N. bid referendum is designed merely to make the voices of the Taiwan people heard.

    Asked if there is any chance the government of Taiwan might cancel the referendum, Wu said both referendums will go ahead as planned as they are promoted by political parties and are not up to any changes by the government.

    According to Wu, China's hostility toward Taiwan has made gaining U.N. membership very important for Taiwan.

    Besides blocking Taiwan's bid to join the United Nations, China is also attempting to bar Taiwan's participation in the world community and is excluding Taiwan from bilateral and regional free trade agreements with neighboring countries in order to increase Taiwan's economic dependency on China.

    Wu argued that including Taiwan in the United Nations will help Taiwan's political and economic development and provide Taiwan and China with a new platform for dialogue.

    He stressed the separate rule of Taiwan and China has been the status quo across the Taiwan Strait since 1949 and that the Taiwan people are fully entitled to representation in the United Nations.

(By Michelle Tsai and Y.F. Low)

ENDITEM/Li