Dole Says He’d Support Giving Taiwan a U.N. Seat

Republican presidential candidate Bob Dole said Sunday that he would support giving Taiwan a seat in the United Nations.

As president, “I would support Taiwan having a seat in the U.N. Whether I could get that accomplished or not, I don’t know,” the Kansas senator said on ABC-TV’s “This Week With David Brinkley.”

Taiwan was expelled from the United Nations in 1971 when China took its seat on the U.N. Security Council. China, which views Taiwan as a renegade province, adamantly rejects Taiwan’s readmission to the world body.

But Taiwan, displaying increased economic and political confidence, has recently begun pushing for membership. President Lee Teng-Hui last year suggested that Taiwan would set up a $1-billion foreign aid program if it was allowed to return to the U.N. Taiwan cites the example of North and South Korea, which are equal but separate members of the U.N.

The Clinton administration has not endorsed Taiwan’s reentry, and the Republican head of the House Asian and Pacific affairs subcommittee, Rep. Doug Bereuter of Nebraska, last week reminded Congress that China would veto any attempt by Taiwan to reenter the U.N.