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At the United Nations a pragmatic Taiwan changes tack....

Written by The Economist

September 28, 2009 01:25 AM IST

3 min read

ONE of the annual rituals performed at the United Nations General Assembly in New York is off the programme this year. For the first time since 1993,Taiwan is not to ask its little band of 23 diplomatic partners to propose it for UN membership. This is not because Taiwan has suddenly given up: it has always known membership was out of the question,since China refuses to recognise its statehood. Rather,Taiwans new approach typifies the effort that has marked the 16-month tenure of President Ma Ying-jeou: to ease tensions with China without dashing all hopes for greater international recognition.

This week officials made clear that,besides shelving the bid for membership-already watered down last year to seeking merely meaningful participation in UN activities-Taiwan will not even try to join UN bodies that require members to be states. Instead it is only asking to join two specific UN agencies. It wants to become,like Palestine,an observer at the International Civil Aviation Organisation. And it wants to join the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It is even prepared to be flexible over the contentious issue of the name the island uses.

This marks another phase of a truce in a protracted diplomatic war. After Taiwan,or the Republic of China,lost its UN seat to China in 1971,it would lure developing countries to open diplomatic relations with large aid packages and other inducements. But this became harder as China grew richer,and as cross-strait relations worsened under the presidency from 2000 to 2008 of Chen Shui-bian,who favoured formal Taiwanese independence. Taiwans diplomatic partners dwindled from 29 in 2000 to 23 in 2008 to Chinas 171. Perhaps the biggest shock was the loss in 2007 of Costa Rica,a staunch ally since 1944,before the end of the civil war.

Mr Ma ended the chequebook contest. And in May this year his goodwill gestures towards China bore fruit: Taiwan was asked to join the World Health Organisation WHO as an observer,under the name Chinese Taipei. This was the first time it had taken part in a UN event in 38 years. Mr Ma hopes this will provide a model for other organisations,starting with the civil-aviation and climate-change bodies. Like the WHO,these two have been picked for their practical appeal. The urgency of tackling climate change makes Taiwans exclusion on political grounds look egregious; likewise the importance of air safety-Taiwans international airport is the worlds 15th-largest air-cargo hub.

The foreign ministry insists it is still committed to pursuing international recognition for Taiwan but wants to be realistic. Such pragmatism is anathema to Taiwans pro-independence opposition. Joseph Wu,a former envoy to Washington during the Chen Shui-bian administration,accuses the government of discrediting Taiwan as a de facto independent state.

As for China,it has been unusually silent on Taiwans change of tack. The foreign ministry in Taipei says there has been no communication with Beijing over these plans. And China-watchers think that,in contrast to the WHO deal,which was negotiated secretly for months,China may have been caught by surprise. It will,however,presumably welcome Taiwans continued restraint-unless it fears a devilish plan to reach statehood inch by inch and committee by committee.

The Economist Newspaper Limited 2009

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United Nations General Assembly