October 6, 2022
No. 279
During the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), various sectors of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies extended united support for Taiwan’s participation in the UN. At 11:00 a.m. on October 4 (US Eastern Standard Time), the Permanent Representatives to the UN of three allies—Ambassador Inga Rhonda King of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Ambassador Carlos Fuller of Belize, and Ambassador Thamie Dlamini of Eswatini—personally presented to the UN Secretariat a joint letter from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies addressed to Secretary-General António Guterres. This was yet another show of joint support from allies. They had spoken up strongly for Taiwan at the UNGA and earlier issued a joint statement expressing grave concern over China’s military drills, which have eroded peace across the Taiwan Strait and in the region. For these actions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) is deeply grateful.
Ten diplomatic allies—Belize, Eswatini, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Saint Christopher and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and Tuvalu—signed the joint letter to Secretary-General Guterres calling on the UN to halt its erroneous interpretation of UNGA Resolution 2758 and accord due attention to the fact that Taiwan is an indispensable partner to the international response to complex challenges. They stated that the inappropriate exclusion of Taiwan from the UN system deprives Taiwan of the opportunity to make contributions that could benefit the world. The executive or legislative branches of government of Guatemala, Honduras, and Paraguay also sent individual letters to Secretary-General Guterres endorsing Taiwan’s participation in the UN.
Diplomatic allies expressed staunch support for Taiwan’s participation campaign and demanded that the UN take action to resolve the inappropriate exclusion of the 23.5 million Taiwanese people from the UN system. They also asked that the UN immediately rectify its illegitimate denial of the right of Taiwan nationals, including journalists, to access UN premises for visits, meetings, activities, and newsgathering. Furthermore, they urged the UN to accept Taiwan’s meaningful participation in meetings, mechanisms, and activities pertaining to the realization of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) so that Taiwan can contribute.
MOFA sincerely thanks all sectors of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies for steadfastly backing its UN participation campaign through concrete actions. Taiwan will firmly uphold the principles of professionalism, pragmatism, and making contributions to demonstrate to the international community that it is a constructive partner in the global effort to reach the SDGs. It will also continue to engage with diplomatic allies and like-minded countries in a concerted effort to respond to the complex challenges facing the world. (E)