Allies call for Taiwan's inclusion in joint letter to United Nations

New York, Sept. 19 (CNA) Permanent representatives to the United Nations from nine of Taiwan's diplomatic allies on Thursday sent a joint letter to U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres calling for the country's inclusion in the world governing body.

In the letter, the allies said the U.N. should take proactive actions to address the "malicious distortions" to U.N. Resolution 2758 that have endangered the status quo in the Taiwan Strait as well as peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region.

It called for the U.N. to facilitate Taiwan's participation and incorporate the latter's contribution to U.N.'s sustainable development goals, as U.N. Resolution 2758 does not exclude Taiwan's meaningful participation in the U.N. system.

Furthermore, the letter also urged the U.N. to uphold the principle of neutrality and "stop erroneously citing U.N. Resolution 2758 and improperly depriving Taiwanese people and the media of the right to enter the United Nations to visit, attend, or cover meetings and events."

Beijing claims that the U.N. resolution "confirmed" its "One China" principle, which asserts there is only one China in the world and Taiwan is "an inalienable part of China."

Taiwan, on the other hand, argues that the resolution only addressed the issue of China's representation at the U.N. and did not mention Taiwan, nor did it address its political status or establish China's sovereignty over Taiwan.

The joint letter, signed by Belize, Eswatini, Guatemala, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG), and Tuvalu, was delivered to Guterres' office ahead of the U.N.'s Summit for the Future as well as the General Debate of the 79th session of the U.N. General Assembly scheduled for next week.

After handing over the letter, SVG Permanent Representative to the U.N. Inga Rhonda King told reporters outside the U.N. headquarters in New York that it is hard to imagine that Taiwan will be excluded from the upcoming summit.

According to information on the U.N.'s website, world leaders will convene at the Summit for the Future from Sept. 22-23 to adopt the Pact for the Future, which will include a Global Digital Compact and a Declaration on Future Generations as annexes.

"Could you imagine that the world's technological juggernaut which is Taiwan was not able to participate in those negotiations," she said, pointing out the leading role the country plays in advanced semiconductor production and in artificial intelligence technology.

Guatemalan Permanent Representative to the U.N. Carla María Rodríguez Mancia, meanwhile, expressed hope that more nations would join in to support Taiwan's inclusion in the U.N.

Speaking of the summit, Mancia said the issues that are being discussed this year "make it more relevant to have Taiwan among us because it is "a big democracy, a country of freedom and technology and we are discussing the future."

Carlos Fuller, Belizean Permanent Representative to the U.N., said Taiwan is one of the island nations most threatened by rising sea levels, making its exclusion from U.N. conferences on climate warming an important issue.

In a separate statement, Lee Chih-chiang (李志強), who heads the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, thanked Taiwan's diplomatic allies for taking action to express their strong support for the country's participation in the U.N. system.

Lee emphasized that the top priority of Taiwan's U.N. campaign this year is to help the international community correctly understand U.N. Resolution 2758 and urge the world governing body to seek appropriate ways to include Taiwan.