US seeks support for Taiwan's participation in UN system

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has called on United Nations member states to back Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN system amid China's continued efforts to limit the island's international participation. Arguing for Taiwan's robust participation in the UN, the top US diplomat  Blinken said that the island's exclusion undermines the important work of the UN and its related bodies. Blinken noted that despite the tens of millions of passengers travelling annually through its airports, Taiwan was not represented at the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) triennial assembly.
Blinken said, despite world-class response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan was not at the World Health Assembly. He added that members of civil society from around the world engage every day in activities at the UN, but Taiwan's scientists, technical experts, business persons, artists, educators, students, human rights advocates and others are blocked from entry and participating in these activities simply because of the passports they hold. His remarks come a few days after US and Taiwan held a high-level meeting on expanding the island's participation at the United Nations and in other international organizations.