Should Taiwan be admitted to the United Nations? : joint hearing before the Subcommittees on International Security, International Organizations, and Human Rights and Asia and the Pacific of the Committee on Foreign Affairs, House of Representatives, One

142 Pages·1994·4.4 MB·English

by  United States. Congress. House. Committee on Foreign Affairs. Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations, and Human Rights

SHOULD TAIWAN BE ADMIHED TO
THE UNITED NATIONS?
Y4.F76/1:T 13/12
Should Taiuan be Adnitted to the ^"- • • LTTf' A "DTTVT/^
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEES ON
INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL
SECURITY,
ORGANIZATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
AND
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATrVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JULY 14, 1994
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
HAH Bms
'^^mum
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
84-403CC WASHINGTON 1994
:
ForsalebytheU.S.GovcmmeniPrimingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments,CongressionalSalesOffice,Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-046262-2

SHOULD TAIWAN BE ADMITTED TO
THE UNITED NATIONS?
Y4.F76/1:T 13/12
Should Taiuan be Adnitted to the ^"^^ •• LTXp A OTAT/^
BEFORE THE
SUBCOMMITTEES ON
INTERNATIONAL INTERNATIONAL
SECURITY,
ORGANIZATIONS AND HUMAN RIGHTS
AND
ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
ONE HUNDRED THIRD CONGRESS
SECOND SESSION
JULY 14, 1994
Printed for the use of the Committee on Foreign Affairs
MAR 6 SS5
U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE
84-403CC WASHINGTON 1994
:
ForsalebytheU.S.GovernmentPrintingOffice
SuperintendentofDocuments.CongressionalSalesOffice.Washington,DC 20402
ISBN 0-16-046262-2
COMMITTEE ON FOREIGN AFFAIRS
LEE H. HAMILTON, Indiana, Chairman
SAM GEJDENSON, Connecticut BENJAMIN A. OILMAN, New York
TOM LANTOS. California WILLIAM F. GOODLING, Pennsylvania
ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
HOWARD L. HERMAN, California TOBY ROTH, Wisconsin
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York OLYMPIA J. SNOWE. Maine
HARRY JOHNSTON, Florida HENRY J. HYDE, IlHnois
ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
Samoa DAN BURTON, Indiana
JAMES L. OBERSTAR, Minnesota JAN MEYERS, Kansas
CHARLES E. SCHUMER, New York ELTON GALLEGLY, California
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida
ROBERT A. BORSKI, Pennsylvania CASS BALLENGER, North Carolina
DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey DANA ROHRABACHER, California
ROBERT E. ANDREWS, New Jersey DAVID A. LEVY, New York
ROBERT MENENDEZ, New Jersey DONALD A. MANZULLO, Illinois
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio LINCOLN DIAZ-BALART, Florida
CYNTHIA A. MCKINNEY, Georgia EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
MARIA CANTWELL, Washington
ALCEE L. HASTINGS, Florida
ERIC FINGERHUT, Ohio
PETER DEUTSCH, Florida
ALBERT RUSSELL WYNN, Maryland
DON EDWARDS, California
FRANK McCLOSKEY, Indiana
THOMAS C. SAWYER. Ohio
LUIS V. GUTIERREZ, Illinois
Michael H. Van DUSEN, ChiefofStaff
Jo Weber, StaffAssociate
Mickey Harmon, StaffAssociate
(II)
5iAH
Subcommittee on International Security, International Organizations and
Human Rights
TOM LANTOS, California, Chairman
HOWARD L. HERMAN, California DOUG BEREUTER, Nebraska
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York OLYMPIA J. SNOWE. Maine
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey
FRANK MCCLOSKEY, Indiana DAN BURTON, Indiana
THOMAS C. SAWYER, Ohio
ROBKKT King, StaffDirector
Michael Ennis, Republican Professional StaffMember
Beth L. Poisson, Professional StaffMember
Theodore M. HIRSCH, Professional StaffMember
Andrea L. Nelson, Professional Staff Member
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York, Chairman
ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa
Samoa DANA ROHRABACHER, California
MATTHEW G. MARTINEZ, California EDWARD R. ROYCE, California
ROBERT G. TORRICELLI, New Jersey TOBY ROTH, Wisconsin
SHERROD BROWN, Ohio
ERIC FINGERHUT. Ohio
Russell J. Whson, StaffDirector
James McCORMICK, Republican Professional StaffMember
Robert M. Hathaway, Professional StaffMember
David S. Adams, Professional StaffMember
David FelTMAN, Professional StaffMember
(III)

CONTENTS
Page
WITNESSES
Hon. James Lilley, former U.S. Ambassadorto China 13
Hon. John Bolton, formerAssistant Secretary ofState for International Orga-
nizations 16
Hungdah Chiu, professor of law and director of East Asian Legal Studies
Program, School ofLaw, UniversityofMaryland (Baltimore) 18
James D. Seymour, senior research scholar. East Asian Institute, Columbia
19
LuUnngi-vcehrusiCthyen, professoroflaw. NewYork Law School 21
APPENDIX
Statements ofMembers ofCongress:
Hon. Tom Lantos 47
Hon. Gary L. Ackerman 52
Hon. Robert G. Torricelli 54
Hon. ChristopherH. Smith 58
Hon. Luis V. Gutierrez 61
Hon. Peter Deutsch 63
Hon. Dan Burton 64
Hon. EdwardR. Royce 67
Prepared statements:
Hon. James Lilley 68
Hon. John Bolton 75
Hungdah Chiu 87
James D. Seymour 103
Lung-chu Chen 119
HarveyJ. Feldman, U.S. Ambassador, retired 120
Excerpt from "The Growth and Accomplishments of the Republic of China
on Taiwan": President Lee Teng-hui's answers to questions submitted by
Presidentsand Prime MinisterMagazine 132
(V)

SHOULD TAIWAN BE ADMITTED TO THE
UNITED NATIONS?
THURSDAY, JULY 14, 1994
House of Representatives,
Committee on Foreign Affairs,
Subcommittee on International Security, Inter-
national Organizations and Human Rights, joint
WITH THE Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific,
Washington, DC.
The subcommittees met, pursuant to call, at 10 a.m. in room
2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Tom Lantos (chairman
of the Subcommittee on International Security, International Orga-
nizations and Human Rights) presiding.
Mr. Lantos. The Subcommittees on International Security,
International Organizations and Human Rights, and Asia and the
Pacific, are convening today to discuss the complex question of
whether Taiwan should be admitted or readmitted to the United
Nations.
As ofAugust 1, 1993, 184 states were represented in the General
Assembly, and I would guess that the names of some ofthem might
be unfamiliar or perhaps even unknown to many. How many of us
can immediately place Barbuda, Comoros, Vanautu, or Saint Vin-
cent and the Grenadines on the map in terms of weight and impor-
tance in the international trading system, in terms of gross domes-
tic product, in terms of technological prowess, and in terms of for-
eign exchange reserves?
I do not mean to denigrate these countries or to suggest that
they do not belong in the United Nations; rather, I mean only to
illustrate the degree to which the current U.N. membership reflects
the world's political landscape. This is only fitting because U.N.
membership is based on the principal ofuniversality, and the orga-
nization is in fact enriched by the widest possible participation.
Indeed, even the Holy See has permanent observer status as do
several international organizations, including, among others, the
Commonwealth Secretariat, the Asian-African Legal Consultative
Committee, and the Latin American Economic System. And the
Palestine Liberation Organization was invited in 1974 to attend
U.N. General Assembly sessions and international conferences.
But isn't it curious that a country of 21 million people that is
both a model for emerging democracies and an economic power-
house should be excluded from U.N. membership that includes
such luminaries as Iran, Iraq, Sudan, Cuba, Libya, and North
Korea? I speak, of course, of Taiwan, which as a result of an infa-
(1)
mous act of Chinese legerdemain, lost its seat at the U.N. in 1971
to the Peoples Republic ofChina.
Let me say at the outset I fully realize there is a debate among
the citizens of Taiwan regarding whether the correct name oftheir
country is the Republic of China on Taiwan or simply Taiwan. Our
purpose today is not to get bogged down in internal partisan de-
bate, but rather to address the very important pragmatic question
of how we can promote Taiwan's participation in the entire inter-
national system in a manner that benefits both Taiwan and the
international community. Today I will use the name Taiwan which
is more familiar to the U.S. public.
The statistics are impressive: Taiwan's population is greater than
that of three-quarters of the countries in the United Nations. Tai-
wan has the 25th highest per capita income in the world and the
20th largest Gross National Product. Only 19 countries on the face
of this planet have a greater output than does Taiwan. And Tai-
wan, of course, boasts of the world's second largest holding of for-
eign currency reserves. In fact, the total foreign currency reserves
of all of the countries of the former Soviet Union, including Russia,
are but a small fraction ofTaiwan's $80 billion foreign exchange re-
serve. Taiwan has the 14th largest volume of global trade and
ranks 7th in overseas investment.
So how can one explain the absence of this country, which has
governed itself for more than 50 years in an increasingly demo-
cratic fashion, in an organization that includes so many other
newly independent states that play an infinitely smaller role in the
international system?
I am not even talking about the failed societies, so many, which
still have United Nations memberships. Quite simply, this is one
of the cruel relics of the cold war that has yet to be swept away.
Although in the last 5 years we have witnessed the dismantlement
of many of the tragic anomalies of that era, some old wounds still
fester, such as Fidel Castro's vicious rule in Cuba, the tense stand-
offon the Korean peninsula, and the PRC's claim on Taiwan, which
casts a shadow over that country's otherwise bright future.
The resolution of Cuba and North Korea's difTiculties unfortu-
nately still await a future date, but Taiwan's ambiguous identity
seems increasingly anachronistic in this day and age when former
Soviet satellites, ranging from East Germany to Uzbekistan, have
proudly assumed their seats in the U.N. and other international
bodies.
Taiwan, however, is excluded from the U.N. because the People's
Republic of China, one of the five permanent members of the Secu-
rity Council and thus a possessor of the veto, is adamantly opposed
to Taiwan's admission. The rest ofthe U.N. membership, including
the United States, is unwilling to challenge the Chinese on this
issue.
Taiwan's exclusion cannot be justified in terms of international
law as Taiwan more than meets the traditional criteria of state-
hood. Nor would granting Taiwan U.N. representation in any way
prejudice the ultimate resolution of Taiwan's status. The two Ger-
manys reunified, although both had seats in the United Nations;
and so could China and Taiwan at some future date if that were
the wish of both nations. Thus, Taiwan's continued absence from