TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Taiwanese community is pushing for Taiwan’s full membership in the United Nations as the 77th U.N. General Assembly (UNGA 77) is set to kick off on Tuesday (Sept. 13) in New York.

A crowdfunded campaign was launched by a Taiwanese society to place a front-page advertisement promoting “UN for Taiwan” in the Globe and Mail. With support from overseas Taiwanese, the initiative soon reached the targeted amount of C$10,000 (US$7,677), according to the Taiwanese Canadian Association of Toronto.

The Metro Vancouver Overseas Taiwanese Society (MVOTS) believes Taiwan “should not and must not” be excluded from the global convention, the theme of which is “A watershed moment: transformative solutions to interlocking challenges.” The international community cannot neglect the wish of the 23 million Taiwanese to join the effort tackling challenges from COVID-19, the Russian invasion of Ukraine, energy and food crises, climate change, and supply chain instability, it told CNA.

At a dinner party celebrating bilateral relations between the two countries on Saturday (Sept. 10), Director General Liu Li-hsin (劉立欣) of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Vancouver said Taiwan has pledged aid to Ukrainian people afflicted by the war and made donations to Canada during COVID and for flood relief. Taiwan has the ability to contribute to the world and 1971 U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 does not grant China the right to represent Taiwan, he stressed.

Taiwanese Canadian Cultural Society hosts dinner party celebrating bilateral relations. (CNA photo)