| Taiwan has been a part of China since ancient times. Taiwan issue arises from Chinese civil war and USA's intervention. From 1993 to 2008, Taiwan authorities have always asked to participate in the UN or its specialized agencies through its"diplomatic ally"bills in the form of"return","participation","joining"in the UN General Assembly. Its essence is to reflect"independent sovereignty"of Taiwan or break the international law frame of"One China".From the perspective of international law, sovereignty is generally defined as the most independent inherent power or property of a country. It mainly includes two aspects, i.e., internally it means the supreme power of a country in its territory, while externally it means the power that a country is independent from and equal with other countries. China is the first to discover and effectively manages Taiwan, and acquires Taiwan's sovereignty originally by"preoccupation". In 1895, Japan forced the government of the Qing Dynasty to sign Treaty of Shimonoseki by fierce and ceded Taiwan. However, Cairo Declaration, Potsdam Proclamation, and other legal documents confirmed the illegality Japan conquered Taiwan, and definitely expressed to return Taiwan's sovereignty to China. Since October 1, 1949, the government of the People's Republic of China replaced Republic of China according to the government succession principle of international law, and acquired Taiwan's sovereignty. The three Sino-US joint communiques and communiques on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and over 160 sovereign nations in the world confirmed the fact that Taiwan's sovereignty belonged to China. From the national sovereignty point, Taiwan has no qualifications to participate in the UN which is an intergovernmental organization made of sovereign nations.Some Taiwan's independence separatists on the island proclaim that even though it cannot be denied that Taiwan belongs to China, Taiwan can still build up an independent country with the right of national self-determination and thus is admitted into the UN. The right of national self-determination is divided into external and internal self-determinations. The internal right of self-determination is people's decision-making power, right of autonomy, and rights to develop self economy, culture, religion, custom, etc. The external right of self-determination mainly refers to the right the oppressed nation acquires independence, which is the right of national self-determination in the international law sense. The right of national self-determination and national sovereignty are interdependent and react mutually. So far, all international treaties and institutional laws including the rules of national self-determination right do not support so-called separation right. Taiwan does not accord with the principle of national self-determination in international law sense, so so-called Taiwanese nation does not exist in its essentials. It excludes the regional range of national self-determination in international law, has no qualification of independent existence, and there is no necessary to adopt national self-determination. Therefore, Taiwan cannot build up an independent country to enter the UN by national self-determination like some non-autonomous countries, i.e., ex-colonies, and mandated territories.UN is the largest, most universal and influential international organization in the world. One of the important authorities of the UN General Assembly is to determine the entry of new member states and exclusion of former members. In 1971, the UN General Assembly passed Resolution 2758, which confirmed Chinese Representation Rights of the government of the People's Republic of China, and drove the membership that the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek occupied in the UN and all its organizations illegally. In consideration of procedure, there are two ways for Taiwan authorities for enter the UN in the final analysis, i.e., return the UN in the form that Republic of China exists in Taiwan, or enter the UN as a new member state in the name of Taiwan. If it returns as a former member, it must contest China's representation right with the government of the People's Republic of China in the UN General Assembly once more. Even though it enters the voting procedure of the UN General Assembly, considering China has so powerful comprehensive national strength and Taiwan authorities has only 23 diplomatic allies, it is impossible for its authorities to get half or more concurring votes of the UN 192 member states. Return to UN is destined to fail. If it enters as a new member, according to Clause 1, Article 4 of the UN Charter and juridical interpretation of the international court of justice, Taiwan has no membership qualification to enter the UN as a new member. Moreover, entry to the UN must pass the final procedure that two thirds of member states vote by majority in the UN General Assembly, and the advanced procedure recommended by Security Council. As a permanent member of the UN Security Council, China has the power of veto. Therefore, according to the UN Charter, resolutions and rules of procedures, Taiwan authorities have no qualification to enter the UN. Without the permission of Chinese government, there is no possibility for Taiwan to join the UN. There are three potential ways to solve the problem of Taiwan's participation in the UN. Firstly, Taiwan and mainland make delegations, and share the membership of China. Secondly, the UN General Assembly declares definitely that Taiwan's legal status is a part of China with a new resolution and thus refuses Taiwan to participate in the UN essentially. Lastly, on the basis of unified arrangement, the local government of Taiwan becomes the associate member of UN under the authorization of the central government. To solve the problem of Taiwan's participation in the UN, it shall generally adhere to the principle of One China. The solution shall get popular support of Taiwan to the greatest extent and the aim between Taiwan and mainland must be positioned to be eventual reunification. |
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