Representatives from eight of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies delivered a joint letter signed by 12 of the nation’s allies to United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday 2nd October, 2018.
The letter supported Taiwan’s request to play a more active role in the international body, including the lifting of restrictions on Taiwanese media covering UN events.
The eight representatives came from Belize, St. Kitts and Nevis, Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Haiti, Kiribati, the Vatican and eSwatini.
The letter called on the UN to allow Taiwan to participate in UN-related conferences and mechanisms, Lois M. Young, Permanent Representative of Belize to the UN, told reporters in New York following the meeting with Rosemary A. DiCarlo, Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs of the U.N., who promised to refer the letter to Guterres.
The UN official cited General Assembly resolution 2758 from 1971 as the reason Taiwan cannot participate in UN events.
Passed on October 25, 1971, during the 26th session of the UN General Assembly, the resolution recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as “the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations.”
The 12 countries to sign the letter to Guterres were St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Haiti, the Marshall Islands, eSwatini, Kiribati, Nauru, Palau, Tuvalu, St. Lucia, St. Kitts and Nevis, Solomon Islands and Belize.
Three other diplomatic allies — Nicaragua, Paraguay and Honduras — sent their own letters to the UN Secretariat.
The two allies that did not publicly support Taiwan during the general debate or sign the letter were Guatemala and the Holy See.
