The Chicom fiction of Tiawan as a province

Clifford D. May:

Remember that U.N. official who complained about Washington's contribution to the tsunami victims? He neglected to mention that even as he was deriding Americans as "stingy," the United Nations was refusing more than $50 million in aid.

Why? Because the offer came from Taiwan, and the Chinese rulers in Beijing do not want this island nation playing an independent role on the world stage - not even a charitable one.

"I really wonder," said Zakaria Fellah, an Algerian-born former U.N. official, "whether the victims of the stricken areas in Indonesia, Thailand or Sri Lanka would have cared about the origin of the assistance."

...

It is a source of particular irritation to the Taiwanese that, at Beijing's insistence, they have been barred from U.N. membership - and even from the kind of "observer" status enjoyed by the Red Cross and the Palestine Liberation Organization. Nor can Taiwan join such affiliated groups as the World Health Organization. If that means missing out on cooperation that could save lives, the WHO doesn't appear to mind.

Of course, one might wonder why Taiwan would want to be in the United Nations. The 34-year period since its exclusion from that body coincides with the greatest achievements in the history of this island, a land as large as the Netherlands with a population that is now about the size of Australia's and New Zealand's combined.

With no U.N. officials offering development "expertise" or a penny of financial assistance, Taiwan has risen to become the world's 17th-largest economy and the 14th-largest exporter. In the bustling capital of Taipei, 85 percent of families have personal computers in their homes. The world's tallest building - Taipei 101 - recently opened its doors.

Perhaps even more impressive, the people of this island have in recent years created the first Chinese-speaking democracy the world has ever seen.

...

The Taiwanese also have a right to self-determination. Surely, no one can legitimately rule Taiwan without the consent of the Taiwanese people - and such consent can only be expressed at the ballot box.

That is probably a little too scary for the Chicoms.

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