Let Taiwan into the UN...

The Canadian government should support the membership of Taiwan into the UN...

The UN Charter guarantees the right of all states to membership. Why, then, does the United Nations exclude a nation, Taiwan, that satisfies all of the criteria of statehood defined in the 1933 Montevideo Convention and is more populous than 80 percent of UN member states?

A founding principle of the UN is the promotion of human freedom and democracy. Why, then, does the UN turn a cold shoulder to a country, Taiwan, rated as Asia's freest country in Freedom House's Freedom in the World 2006 report?

Another basic goal of the UN is to promote economic and social development, and to reduce poverty and disease. Why, then, do UN agencies reject the abundant financial, material and human resources offered by an advanced country, Taiwan, that ranks among the top 20 nations with regard to GDP, trade and investment in other countries?

The UN is also founded on the championing of human rights. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights states: "Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration… no distinctions shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs."

Why, then, do UN agencies ignore the rights of the 23 million Taiwanese people?