Taiwan’s Representative to the U.S. Hsiao Bi-khim (???) met with Michele J. Sison, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, recently, with the American official calling for support for Taiwan’s “meaningful” participation in the United Nations system.
On her Twitter account, Sison posted a photo of her and Hsiao on Monday, saying that it had been great to meet with Hsiao and that “Taiwan’s contributions benefit the international community on so many issues.”
“We encourage UN Member States to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation throughout the UN system,” Sison added in the Twitter post.
At the end of her post, Sison used the hashtag “#TaiwanCanHelp,” which is a slogan used often by Taiwan to show the country is willing to take part in international humanitarian efforts and provide help to those in need.
In response, Hsiao, the head of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office (TECRO) in the United States, expressed her appreciation at meeting with the U.S. official on her Twitter account on Monday.
“Appreciated the opportunity to discuss how we can work together to expand Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations,” Hsiao said in her post.
While both did not specify where and when they had met with each other, sources said they met in a building of the U.S. State Department on Feb. 25. It was the first time Sison has met with Hsiao since she assumed her current post at the U.S. State Department in December 2021.
Before being Assistant Secretary of State for International Organization Affairs, Sison served as U.S. Ambassador to Haiti from February 2018 to October 2021, and as U.S. Deputy Representative to the UN during 2014 to 2018, according to the U.S. State Department.
During her tenure at the U.N., the U.S. State Department said Sison helped build global coalitions to counter transnational threats to peace and security and advocated for a more effective, efficient, and accountable U.N. and multilateral system.
In October 2021, U.S. State Secretary Anthony Blinken said the U.S. had urged other U.N. member states to support “Taiwan’s robust, meaningful participation throughout the U.N. system and in the international community,” adding Taiwan’s participation was not a political issue but a pragmatic one as the exclusion of Taiwan would be detrimental to the U.N. and its related agencies.
Blinken’s comments came a day after the 50th anniversary of U.N. Resolution 2758 on Oct. 25, in which the People’s Republic of China was designated as the representative of China at the U.N., while the Republic of China (R.O.C.), as Taiwan is officially known, was expelled.
Taiwan has not been a U.N. member since the passage of the resolution, limiting its participation in the body’s specialized agencies.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel