Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN defies inclusion and fairness principles

When Taiwan’s Lee Yang and Wang Chi-lin secured gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics for doubles badminton, I celebrated alongside the rest of my countrymen.

Lin Yu-ting’s victory in boxing, after enduring a firestorm of ugly speculation about her personal biology, filled me with immense pride in the resilience of the Taiwanese people. However, as a representative and citizen of Taiwan, witnessing our signs and banners being confiscated by security staff or snatched by Chinese personnel at the Olympic venues were painful reminders of China’s undue influence on the world stage. 

One organization where China’s influence is particularly troubling is the United Nations. The UN was founded on the principles of universality and of maintaining peace and fostering cooperation among nations. Yet Taiwan — with a pivotal role in the global tech supply chain and an unwavering commitment to contributing to the international community — remains excluded.

Not only are Taiwan government officials barred from the UN, but ordinary Taiwanese citizens and journalists are also denied access to its premises, unable to attend meetings or engage in newsgathering. With the 79th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York this month, this is an opportune moment for the global community to address the adverse influence exerted by the People’s Republic of China in the UN and to reconsider Taiwan’s exclusion from that world body.

The need for Taiwan’s inclusion is made crystal clear in light of China’s military build-up, escalation of cross-strait tensions and stated intent to take over Taiwan by force. From conducting military exercises encircling Taiwan following President Lai Ching-te’s inauguration to imposing draconian laws that impose criminal punishments on supposed “Taiwan independence” supporters, mainland China’s recent actions and track record are deeply concerning. 

China’s expansionist ambitions are not limited to Taiwan, as evidenced most recently by its territorial disputes with the Philippines (among others) in the South China Sea. Despite international outcry and legal rulings, China continues to aggressively assert its claims, bolstering its military presence and expanding its gray-zone activities in the East and South China Seas. These actions indicate a pattern of expansionism that threatens regional stability, underscoring the urgent need for the UN to unequivocally reaffirm its concerns about Beijing’s coercive behavior and to take decisive, coordinated action to thwart its unlawful schemes.

One such unlawful scheme is China’s concerted effort to falsely claim that Taiwan is part of its territory by misrepresenting the General Assembly’s Resolution 2758 and conflating it with its One China principle. As a matter of fact, Resolution 2758 makes no mention of Taiwan at all. This deliberate distortion is part of a bogus legal framework that China is building up to justify a future invasion of Taiwan. If left unchallenged, these false claims will disrupt the status quo across the Taiwan Strait and jeopardize Indo-Pacific peace and stability, further threatening the rules-based international order.

The so-called One China principle is neither an international consensus nor a universally accepted norm. It also has a very distinct meaning from the “One China” policy adopted by the U.S. and many other countries.

U.S. senior officials were spot-on in outlining four key points debunking China’s misrepresentation of Resolution 2758. First and foremost, the resolution did not endorse, is not equivalent to and does not reflect a consensus for China’s “One China” principle.

Secondly, the resolution has no bearing on countries’ sovereign choices with respect to their relationships with Taiwan. Third, the resolution did not mean the UN was taking an institutional position on the ultimate political status of Taiwan. Finally, the resolution does not preclude Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN system and other multilateral forums.

U.S. leadership, in advocating for Taiwan’s international inclusion, has inspired like-minded nations to do the same. Over the past few months, the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China, the Australian Senate and the Netherlands’ House of Representatives have also adopted resolutions or passed motions rejecting China’s false assertions about Resolution 2758 and calling for an end to the suppression of Taiwan’s international space. 

As more nations speak up on Taiwan’s behalf, the injustice of our exclusion becomes harder to ignore. While the theme of this year’s General Assembly meeting is leaving no one behind, the 23.5 million people of Taiwan continue to be left behind by the UN system.

It is crucial that the UN live up to its principles of inclusion and fairness by repudiating China’s malign influence over the organization and allowing Taiwan’s meaningful participation. Taiwan has no shortage of expertise to offer the world. We just need to be given the opportunity.

Alexander Tah-Ray Yui is the Taiwan government’s representative to the U.S.