Taiwan seeks inclusion in United Nations activities

Taiwan has called on the international community to uphold the principles of inclusiveness and ensure that no one is left behind, urging greater opportunities for its meaningful participation in United Nations activities.

Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dr Lin Chia-lung, made the call in a statement titled “Restoring Trust: Taiwan’s Rightful Place in the Free World,” made available to journalists on Tuesday.

Lin said restoring confidence in the United Nations must begin with treating members of the international community fairly and justly.

“Ensuring Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the United Nations is therefore essential to building a more inclusive, secure, resilient, and rules-based international order,” he said.

According to him, Taiwan’s participation would contribute to collective security, economic and technological resilience, and international efforts to resist authoritarian pressure.

“The free world needs Taiwan, and a stronger, more credible United Nations needs Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” Lin said.

He said that despite Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN system, the country remained determined to contribute positively to the international community.

Lin argued that the transformation of the international order “cannot be complete while a constructive and trustworthy member remains unjustly excluded.”

He expressed concern over what he described as growing pressure on the rules-based international order, saying authoritarian states were seeking to weaken its safeguards and reshape international rules to serve their interests.

“Even the fundamental principles of peaceful settlement of disputes and prohibition against the threat or use of force, which are enshrined in the United Nations Charter, have been openly challenged and flagrantly flaunted,” he said.

The minister said the international community was at a critical juncture and must choose between defending international law and allowing the existing global order to deteriorate.

“Either we act together to uphold justice, defend the rule of law, and maintain peace and security, or we watch the world order steadily crumble away, taking freedom, self-determination, and democracy with it,” Lin said.

He identified the Indo-Pacific as one of the regions where the challenges to peace and stability were particularly evident.

Lin further said Taiwan shared the objectives of restoring trust in the United Nations and managing institutional transformation, themes he attributed to the incoming president of the 81st UN General Assembly, Khalilur Rahman.

“Taiwan shares these objectives and stands ready to help realise them,” he said.

The minister argued that greater cooperation with Taiwan would benefit the international community, particularly in areas including security, technology, supply-chain resilience and democratic cooperation.

“The free world needs Taiwan, and a stronger, more credible United Nations needs Taiwan’s meaningful participation,” Lin reiterated.