Sunday, August 13, 2006

TAIWAN'S U.N. BID A JOINT AND CONTINUOUS EFFORT: MOFA

Taipei, Aug. 11 (CNA) Taiwan's bid to become a member of the United Nations is a joint and continuous effort, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) spokesman Michel Lu said Friday.

It will not be easy for Taiwan to enter the U. N., as evidenced by the last 14 failed attempts to do so. But Taiwan has shown time and again that it is willing and capable of being a responsible member of the international community, according to Lu.

Even China, he said, spent 22 years before securing its U.N. membership -- although it was at Taiwan's expense.

"And China has been doing whatever it takes to block Taiwan from international organizations and events. That tells us we don't have any reason to stop working at a bid, which has become an annual task for us, " he said.

Taiwan shares the same values -- which Lu claimed are "democracy, human rights and development" -- with the 192 member countries of the United Nations and went from an aid recipient to a contributor that reaches out a helping hand to less-developed countries, Lu said.

The U.N. bid is always a priority issue for MOFA and every Taiwan president since 1972, when the Republic of China was replaced in the U.N. by the People's Republic of China.

Over 100 embassies and representatives offices around the world have spent countless hours delivering Taiwan's message and hope, while MOFA has been tackling the New York area, where the U.N. headquarters are located, with publicity campaigns, parliamentary lobbies and mobilizing overseas Taiwanese groups, said John Chen, director- general of MOFA's Department of International Organizations.

It is also possible that President Chen Shui-bian will discuss the bid with the U.S. media in a teleconference, which is si miliar to the one Chen had with European media when Taiwan was trying to bid for World Health Assembly observer status earlier this year, Chen said.

"It has not been and will not be easy, but the 23 million people of Taiwan have the right to participate in international affairs. We will keep working on it, " Lu said.