Taiwans UN-Kampagne 2017

Kleine Schritte statt großer Sprung

Abstract

As a result of its defeat in the Chinese civil war, the Guomindang government of the Republic of China, under the leadership of Chiang Kai-shek, was forced to retreat to Taiwan in 1949. Although the Republic of China was a founding member of the United Nations, occupying indeed a seat on the Security Council, the mainland’s growing international recognition as well as the normalization of United States–China relations would eventually lead to the People’s Republic of China taking over the “Chinese seat,” as sole representative of China, in the UN in 1971. In light of its international isolation, Taiwan thus launched several initiatives so as to increase its global participation. However, due to the PRC’s opposition, Taiwan was not able to improve its status significantly. Now, in September 2017, Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party has begun a new campaign. According to the party’s own claims, this campaign is following an innovative approach by formulating three distinct demands addressing both the UN and the international community at large. Additionally, Foreign Minister Lee Tawei published an op-ed article to gain greater attention worldwide. This article seeks to briefly explain last year’s campaign, place it in the context of former initiatives, and to critically evaluate its prospects for success.