Democratic reform in Taiwan, which has been praised as a “quiet revolution,” has transformed Taiwan from an authoritarian regime into a democracy in which human rights and the rule of law are honored. Taiwan has been listed by the New York-based Freedom House as one of the 89 free countries in the world, and one of the 17 free countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Taiwan plays an important role in the global economy. Taiwan’s population is larger than that of over 140 UN member states. It is the world’s 17th largest economy and 15th largest trading nation, and its information technology industry is world famous. It is the world’s largest producer of notebooks, motherboards, and liquid crystal display monitors. In the World Economic Forum’s Growth Competitiveness Report for 2004, Taiwan was listed fourth among all countries, and first in Asia for the third consecutive year.

Regrettably, however, Taiwan’s political and economic achievements are not truly reflected on the international stage. Taiwan is not a member of any UN-related organization. Of the more than 7,200 inter-governmental organizations in the world, Taiwan is a member of a mere 26, and an observer in only 15. This is not commensurate with the reality of Taiwan’s vitality. Because of China’s obstruction, Taiwan is denied almost all participation in the inter-governmental activities of the international community. This “political apartheid” harms the human rights, interests, and dignity of Taiwan’s people. This is surely a travesty of democratic freedom, human rights, and other mainstream values in the international community, and is something that a civilized society should not tolerate.

A Seat for Taiwan

People have often stated that Taiwan has been able to create economic and political stability despite limited access to international organizations. As such, it is not necessary to help Taiwan participate in international organizations. However, for the reasons set out below, I believe that Taiwan should have a stronger voice in international institutions.

The emergence of new issues demands that Taiwan receive a seat in the United Nations. With the development of globalization, it has become increasingly difficult for any given country to address many transnational issues on its own. For instance, mismanagement of the 1997 Asian financial crisis, or the monetary crises experienced in Brazil, Mexico, and Russia, could have led to a transnational domino-style effect. Fortunately, this was avoided due to the timely involvement and assistance of international financial institutions (IFIs), particularly the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, Taiwan had to sail through the turbulence of the Asian financial crisis without any assistance from IFIs because Taiwan is not a member of them. In view of the further liberalization of the flow of international capital, the international community should seriously consider the possibility of Taiwan’s joining IFIs, such as the IMF, in order to better equip IFIs to face potential future financial crises.

Additionally, the formation of new frameworks requires that Taiwan has a role in the United Nations. The rise of the concept of the global village has caused a number of issues to become the focus of international concern. International environmental cooperation is one example. The Kyoto Protocol, which entered into force on February 16, 2005, was a significant landmark in multilateral efforts to prevent global warming and pursue sustainable development. The mechanisms in the Protocol pertaining to the control of greenhouse gas emissions will substantially affect Taiwan’s industrial development and foreign trade. But due to the absence of UN membership, Taiwan was not permitted to participate in any negotiations concerning the Kyoto Protocol, or to take part in the stipulation of international norms. If the international community expects Taiwan to make contributions to global efforts, then it should facilitate Taiwan’s international participation in new frameworks which address critical issues.

Furthermore, the pursuit of international participation is an inevitable result of Taiwan’s consistent development of democracy and human rights. Since Taiwan began to democratize in the mid-1980s, the people of Taiwan have urged the government to seek out a new role in the international community. For instance, Taiwan’s bid to participate in the United Nations was fortified by social movements which led to the passage of a resolution to this effect in the Legislature in 1991.

The development of democracy in Taiwan upholds a primary ideal of the United Nations. In the Human Development Reports published by the United Nations Development Program in July 2002, the importance of deepening democracy was stressed. Since Taiwan is a successful young democracy, it deserves further international acknowledgement. However, because Taiwan has not been allowed to play an active role in many multilateral mechanisms, such as the Community of Democracies and the International Conferences of New or Restored Democracies sponsored by the United Nations, this young democracy cannot share its precious experience with others. This lack of communication undermines the United Nations’ commitment to expanding global democracy.

Integrity of International Cooperation

Perhaps most importantly, Taiwan needs to be afforded a seat in the United Nations to maintain the integrity and effectiveness of international cooperation. Cooperation on the subject of international health, for example, requires that Taiwan be integrated into decision-making bodies. Every year, people from Taiwan make around eight million trips abroad, while foreign nationals make about three million visits to Taiwan. Currently, more than 300,000 foreign laborers work in Taiwan. Moreover, the Taipei Flight Information Region provided service to more than 1.4 million controlled flights in 2004 alone, and 69 foreign airlines from 30 countries operated flights in this Region. With such frequent movement of people, the absence of Taiwan from the World Health Organization (WHO) constitutes a loophole in international disease-prevention mechanisms. Last year, the United States and Japan, among others, voted in favor of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly. These countries learned from the experience of the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) epidemic that because interactions between the people of Taiwan and people of other countries have been growing steadily, Taiwan’s integration into cooperative efforts to prevent epidemics serves the interests of the entire world.

Taiwan is one of the few nations that is willing and able to provide humanitarian relief internationally. Taiwan has provided large amounts of humanitarian relief to Afghanistan and Iraq. After the tsunamis that occurred in the Indian Ocean last year, Taiwan’s government pledged to donate US$50 million, making Taiwan one of the top 20 donors, while donations from Taiwan’s private sector exceeded US$100 million. Nevertheless, Taiwan has been excluded from the meetings for donor countries, disaster prevention meetings, and discussions about the establishment of a tsunami early-warning system. As a result, Taiwan might not be able to make any further contribution if it is not accorded participation. This is surely a loss to the international community and a shame for international humanitarian cooperation.