Taiwan will seek meaningful participation in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

"After 13 years of effort, Taiwan was finally admitted to the WHA as an observer in May, " Yang said. "I believe we can do it much faster in the case of these two agencies, but I cannot project a timetable." Yang made the remarks in response to legislators' questions on the issue, while reporting to the Legislative Yuan's Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee for the first time since he took office last month.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) announced Sept. 21 that Taiwan will strive for membership in U.N. specialized agencies, rather than direct participation in the U.N. as it had been pursuing in previous years.

The ministry called for the UNFCCC and the ICAO to give favorable consideration to the needs of the Taiwan people and what they could contribute if admitted.

Paul Chang, director-general of the MOFA's Department of International Organizations, said at Thursday's committee meeting that as of Wednesday, 14 of Taiwan's 23 diplomatic allies had co-signed a resolution in support of Taiwan's bid to participate in the UNFCC, while 13 of them had expressed support in the case of the ICAO.

Opposition Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Tsai Huang-lang raised the issue of Taiwan's designation in its efforts to join the agencies, noting that some U.N.-related Web sites still refer to Taiwan as "Taipei, China, " a name that he said is unacceptable and belittles the country.

Yang said that although Taiwan is seeking pragmatic participation in the U.N. specialized agencies, the MOFA will try to come up with a designation that would uphold Taiwan's dignity.

Taiwan has not been represented in the U.N. since 1971, when the Republic of China's seat was given to the People’s Republic of China.

Since 1993, it has been trying to have the world body consider the issue of its representation, but has made little progress largely due to China's obstruction.

Taiwan's allies and supporters have been trying to get the General Assembly to list Taiwan's application for admission on the U.N. agenda, but Beijing's claim that Taiwan is part of China has prevailed.

This year, Taiwan has come up with a more flexible and pragmatic approach that it hopes will allow it to better negotiate the complex situation.

Meanwhile, on the question of who will represent Taiwan at this year's unofficial leaders summit of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum Nov. 12-14 in Singapore, Yang said that he cannot comment on the issue, as the arrangements with leaders of other countries are still in progress.

Because of Beijing's opposition, presidents of the Republic of China have been barred from APEC unofficial leadership summits since the country became a member of the regional grouping in 1991 under the name "Chinese Taipei." As cross-strait relations began to thaw after President Ma Ying-jeou took office in May 2008, China did not oppose his choice of former Vice President Lien Chan to represent Taiwan at the APEC summit in Peru last year.

Lien was the most senior former Taiwanese official to ever stand in for the country's president at an APEC summit.

(By Rachel Chan)