Taiwan Denied

Thursday, the United Nations' General Assembly denied Taiwan's application to become a member of the U.N. This is the fifteenth year in a row that Taiwan's application has been denied.

This year is the first time that a large scale campaign with a high profile has been conducted. Additionally, this year's application was unique because the application was filed under the name "Taiwan" for the first time. Chen Shuibian, the Taiwanese president, was especially disappointed by this year's rejection. He has said that the country will hold a special referendum in March to gauge popular support for the proposal.

The United States was not surprised by the rejection of Taiwan's application. The U.S. knew that the application would likely fail and could increase tension between Taiwan and China. Originally, a representative of Taiwan's government held China's seat at the U.N.; however, a representative of China's communist regime took over the seat in 1971. Although a Taiwanese ally, the U.S. must be cognizant of the volatile relationship between China and Taiwan. China is increasingly becoming a powerful nation on the world stage due to its recent economic success. The U.S. must continue its balancing act not to alienate an ally or anger a potential business partner.