Back and Next - Back and NextTaiwan conducts referendum on UN entry
Thursday, April 3, 2008
As an independent sovereign country, the Republic of China (Taiwan) is qualified to be a UN member and has the right to join the UN and its specialized agencies, according to the UN Charter.
According to reports from the Taiwanese embassy in Banjul, the referendums held were proposed by the two major political parties, centered on Taiwan’s UN entry and Taiwan’s UN return, that took place in Tandem with the March 22 Presidential election. As the required quorum was not met according to the report, both referendums were void. “The holding of the referendums is a core value democracy and a peaceful expression of public opinion”.
While this marks Taiwan’s third time to hold a referendum, the process is still new to the majority of the Taiwanese people, who still need to learn to take advantage of such opportunities to directly voice out their opinions.
The report further revealed that the referendums on Taiwan’s UN entry and Taiwan’s UN return advocated essentially the same all geared towards ensuring Taiwan strive for a seat in the United Nations.
According to Taiwan’s referendum Act, 50% of eligible voters amounting to 8.66 million people which is a higher rate than other democracies, need to vote for the first threshold to be passed. “As a matter of fact, about 5.53 million Taiwan voters supported its UN entry while 4.96 million voters also supported its UN return, greatly exceeded the second legal threshold which is about 4.33 million people.
Therefore, despite the failure of these two referendums with their differing views as to which name and method to be used, the determination and will of the majority of people in Taiwan is to support the government’s long term efforts to join the UN” the report noted.
According to the report, the executive Yuan’s Mainland Affairs Council, nearly 80 per cent of respondents to various public opinion polls indicated that they hope to see Taiwan join the UN and fully demonstrates the high hopes that the people have for Taiwan’s membership in the UN.
“Taiwan has not stopped promoting its UN bid since 1993, which illustrates both the continuity of this policy and the consensus between the ruling and the opposition parties on this issue,” the report added. Promoting the UN bid is closely connected to Taiwan’s national security, existence and development. UN membership is also a common aspiration of our people.
Despite China’s unreasonable obstruction, the government of Taiwan, based on safeguarding Taiwan’s national interests and adhering to public opinion, will firmly continue its bid to join the UN and strive for major countries’ support in order to elevate Taiwan’s status in the international community” the report concluded.
According to reports from the Taiwanese embassy in Banjul, the referendums held were proposed by the two major political parties, centered on Taiwan’s UN entry and Taiwan’s UN return, that took place in Tandem with the March 22 Presidential election. As the required quorum was not met according to the report, both referendums were void. “The holding of the referendums is a core value democracy and a peaceful expression of public opinion”.
While this marks Taiwan’s third time to hold a referendum, the process is still new to the majority of the Taiwanese people, who still need to learn to take advantage of such opportunities to directly voice out their opinions.
The report further revealed that the referendums on Taiwan’s UN entry and Taiwan’s UN return advocated essentially the same all geared towards ensuring Taiwan strive for a seat in the United Nations.
According to Taiwan’s referendum Act, 50% of eligible voters amounting to 8.66 million people which is a higher rate than other democracies, need to vote for the first threshold to be passed. “As a matter of fact, about 5.53 million Taiwan voters supported its UN entry while 4.96 million voters also supported its UN return, greatly exceeded the second legal threshold which is about 4.33 million people.
Therefore, despite the failure of these two referendums with their differing views as to which name and method to be used, the determination and will of the majority of people in Taiwan is to support the government’s long term efforts to join the UN” the report noted.
According to the report, the executive Yuan’s Mainland Affairs Council, nearly 80 per cent of respondents to various public opinion polls indicated that they hope to see Taiwan join the UN and fully demonstrates the high hopes that the people have for Taiwan’s membership in the UN.
“Taiwan has not stopped promoting its UN bid since 1993, which illustrates both the continuity of this policy and the consensus between the ruling and the opposition parties on this issue,” the report added. Promoting the UN bid is closely connected to Taiwan’s national security, existence and development. UN membership is also a common aspiration of our people.
Despite China’s unreasonable obstruction, the government of Taiwan, based on safeguarding Taiwan’s national interests and adhering to public opinion, will firmly continue its bid to join the UN and strive for major countries’ support in order to elevate Taiwan’s status in the international community” the report concluded.
Author: by Musa Ndow
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