2019 United Nations Membership for Taiwan / Keep Taiwan Free March (NYC)

In 1992, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in Taiwan proposed that the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration of Taiwan (Republic of China) should recognize the political reality and end the international isolation by considering re-entry into the international community by applying for United Nations membership using the name of Taiwan. Since New York is where the United Nations headquarters is located, it motivated the Taiwanese Americans living in the Greater New York area to organize the “Committee for Admission of Taiwan to the United Nations” and start an annual rally, along with a number of activities, during the United Nations assembly session in September. For the first several years, we promoted the theme of “UN membership for Taiwan”, emphasizing the legality of Taiwan as a sovereign state in the international community. The theme of the movement has evolved to a broader name of “Keep Taiwan Free” in recent years, to reflect the anxiety most Taiwanese feel while dealing with the current crisis, and to also pinpoint the Chinese Communist Party’s growing pressure towards erasing Taiwan.

UNThis year, we continue highlighting Taiwan’s achievements alongside Taiwan’s increasing marginalization. We begin this year’s rally at the Consulate General of the Peoples Republic of China, where allies from various activist communities will join us in condemning the human rights abuses and silencing of activists by the CCP. Then, we march across Manhattan to the United Nations Plaza, where we call upon United Nations General Assembly to hold themselves accountable to the standards they claim to uphold.