President Ma Ying-jeou met on the afternoon of June 16 with a delegation of permanent representatives to the United Nations (UN) from allied countries. On behalf of the government and people of the ROC, the president extended a cordial welcome to the guests and thanked them for speaking on behalf of the ROC at the UN.
The president remarked that the ROC was a founding member of the UN and in 1945 signed the Charter of the United Nations in San Francisco. Article 141 of the ROC Constitution requires the ROC to respect treaties and the Charter of the United Nations , which demonstrates the importance that the ROC places on the UN. But after the UN General Assembly in 1971 passed Resolution 2758 the ROC lost its representation in the UN and was unable to participate in UN activities until two years ago, when the ROC was finally able to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, which marked a return to a UN-related organization after a lapse of 38 years, he said.
President Ma furthermore stated that the name of the ROC still appears in Articles 23 and 110 of the Charter of the United Nations even to this day. Besides participating in the WHA, the ROC is also seeking to take part in the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, both of which touch on issues important to the ROC, he said.
The president stated that he has aggressively sought to improve cross-strait relations since taking office in May 2008 and succeeded in signing 15 agreements, the first of which covers direct cross-strait flights. The president pointed out that 14 aviation corridors run through Taiwan's airspace, and each year over one million flights cross through the Taipei Flight Information Region . The information provided by air traffic control personnel here helps ensure aviation safety and smooth operation of the aviation system in East Asia, the president said, explaining that it is both logical and necessary for Taiwan to participate in the ICAO.
President Ma also mentioned that while the ROC is gradually coming to play a greater role in the international community, it still faces a number of challenges. For instance, he noted that internal documents in the World Health Organization (WHO) refer to the ROC as "Taiwan, Province of China." This triggered strong protests by the ROC, he said, and Taiwan's friends and allies came to its aid. United States Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, when attending this year's WHA in May, stated at a press conference that no UN-affiliated organization can unilaterally decide the status of Taiwan, which the president said expressed the ROC's stance on this issue.
The president added that two days ago 21 members of the European Parliament also lodged a strong protest with the WHO, saying that it should not change the "Chinese Taipei" name under which Taiwan participates in the WHA. The protest stated that such a change damages the fairness of the organization and the credibility of top officials. In addition, the president said that in May of this year during a meeting with some of these parliamentarians he urged them to push for Taiwan to be referred to by the name "Chinese Taipei" in UN organizations. He said he was pleased that these members of the European Parliament pledged to take up this cause and continue to speak on behalf of the ROC.
The delegation included Paraguay Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador José Antonio Dos Santos and Mrs. Dos Santos, Swaziland Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Zwelethu Mnisi and Mrs. Mnisi, and Honduras Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Marco Antonio Suazo Fernández. The group was accompanied by Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Thomas Ping-Fu Hou (侯平福) to the Presidential Office in the afternoon to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting was National Security Council Advisor Tung Kuo-yu (董國猷).