The U.S. has no presumptions about Taiwan's international participation : MOFA
ROC Central News Agency
Taipei, Aug. 28 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said Thursday that the United States never had any preordination regarding Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, rebutting media reports that the U.S. hoped that Taiwan, in its talks with Beijing, will not give any impression that China has sovereignty over Taiwan nor that China should be the one to have the final say.
“Through our continuous contact and communication with the U.S. government, the U.S. has expressed great appreciation for the proposal regarding Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the U.N. specialized agencies, ”MOFA spokesman Henry Chen said at a regular press briefing in response to a reporter’s question.
“The U.S. never had any preordination (regarding Taiwan’s U.N. bid), the report is totally untrue,”he added.
The local newspaper Liberty Times reported Thursday that on President Ma Ying-jeou’s pro-China stance and his recent moderate approach in pitching Taiwan’s participation in the United Nations, the U.S. expressed its position by saying that in the talks with Beijing, Taiwan should not imply that China has sovereignty over Taiwan and that China should not be the one to determine whether Taiwan can participate in international activities.
The message was delivered to Ma by American Institute in Taiwan Chairman Raymond Burghardt during Ma’s transit stops in the U.S. en route to South America and the Caribbean Aug. 12-19, the report added.
The frosty relations between Taiwan and China have been thawing since Ma took office May 20, with his proposal for a“diplomatic truce”and“modus vivendi, ”aimed at terminating the longstanding diplomatic tug-of-war with China and winning more international space for Taiwan.
Asked if Taiwan's new diplomatic initiative was not favorably received by China given the fact that Aug. 18 China reiterated its opposition to Taiwan’s U.N. proposal, Chen said the ministry is not surprised, as it is the same basic Chinese stance as before, but stressed that Taiwan will continue to push the bid.
“Diplomatic ties with our allies are the most important indicator of diplomatic truce while participation in international organizations is the long-term goal that the ministry will continue to work on,”Chen said, urging China to demonstrate more goodwill on the issue of ending the competition to lure each other’sdiplomatic allies.
Taiwan renewed its bid to enter the U.N. Aug. 14 by submitting a proposal asking the U.N. General Assembly at its Sep. 16 meeting to reconsider the feasibility of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the U.N. specialized agencies. However, Chinese Ambassador to the U.N. Wang Guangya wrote to the U.N. secretary-general Aug. 18, saying that China opposes Taiwan’s bid because as part of China, Taiwan is not a sovereign state that can participate in the U.N. specialized agencies, which are composed only of sovereign states.
In response to Wang’s letter, MOFA released a statement Wednesday reiterating that the basic rights of the people of the Republic of China to participate in international organizations and activities should be respected.
Asked if the MOFA’s response was“too weak, ”Chen rebutted the accusation, saying that the ministry was simply responding to the facts of the issue.
“One should not draw the conclusion that‘this is the end’from a single incident, as participation in international organizations is our long-term goal,”Chen said.
He stressed that the pragmatic and meaningful proposal has won an overwhelmingly positive response from the international community, including the U.S., Japan and many important European countries. (By Rachel Chan) Enditem/br
|
NEWSLETTER
|
| Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list |
|
|
|
