By Andy Yih-Ping Liu
Great minds inspire great wisdom. That’s why Taiwanese people cherish whole-heartily the “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth” mindset of great United States President Abraham Lincoln said nearly 160 years ago.
We the people of Taiwan equally appreciate what the well-respected African-American U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell openly depicted in June 2004 that Taiwan “is not a problem, but a success story.” More also, U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Madam Kelly Craft stated openly in December 2021 that “Taiwan, a true force of good in the world.”
These are the very basic and truthful rebukes to the article “Africa and China’s Taiwan Question” have misrepresented, because Taiwan is not anyone’s “Question”, certainly not even a “Problem”.
Indeed, our Taiwanese democracy, freedom, rule of law, respect of human rights, vibrant economy with most advance technology developed have all become what made Taiwan stand strong and proud among other nations, with or without our participation in the United Nations.
Actually, the UN Charter still carries our Taiwan Government formal name ‘Republic of China’ (ROC) in Article 23 concerning the Composition of the Security Council as one of the five Permanent Members. It’s a historical fact that our government assisted in October 1945 the founding of this international body of promoting peace, prosperity and human rights globally. Although our government decided to bow out from the UN in October 1971, but our people and ROC Government in Taiwan have successfully and peacefully transformed ourselves into a full-fledged democracy in the last five decades and have continuously carried the true spirit of UN Charter in our mind and in our heart.
Then, why on earth would a Chinese Communist regime in Beijing, aka the People’s Republic of China, whose jurisdiction never steps a foot onto Taiwan, claim its territorial jurisdiction of “owning” Taiwan as one of its provinces? Although the PRC made its claims mostly based on the UN General Assembly’s Resolution 2758, but in plain fact that within the full context of that particular resolution absolutely nothing was mentioned about Taiwan and our Republic of China Government.
Therefore, as rightfully articulated by Taiwan’s Foreign Affairs Minister, Dr. Jaushieh Joseph Wu, that anyone who echoes the PRC’s deliberately conflating it’s “One China” sayings with the UNGA Resolution 2758 – the Resolution determined who represents “China” in the UN – more than 50 years ago, is intended to mislead, together with Beijing, the world by claiming all the time that Taiwan is a part of Beijing’s territorial jurisdiction.
Taiwan, a beacon of democracy in Asia and a force for good in the world, will resolutely defend its sovereignty and security. As a responsible member of the international community, Taiwan will also continue to exercise restraint in response to China’s provocations, and work together with like-minded countries to uphold peace, stability, rule-base norms and respect of human rights in the region. And as we have shown the world over the years, we will continue to fulfill our international responsibilities, either stated or cherished in the UN Charter, by actively engaging with and contributing meaningfully to the international community.
Taiwan has proven to be a worthy, reliable and indispensable partner to the global community. The people of Taiwan stand ready to contribute their quota to a peaceful and prosperous world. At the same time, just like I have openly mentioned several times that we’re ready to stand up and fight for our very existence and our way of life, just like the biblical story of who David stood up and fought against the mighty Goliath.
We the people of Taiwan truly believe “Government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth”, and our success of being a force of good will also contribute greatly to the world by meaningfully participating the UN or other international bodies.
•Yih-Ping Liu is representativeof the Taiwanese government