Let Taiwan vote on U.N. membership

Taiwan ought to be in the United Nations. It has 23 million people and has been separated from China for 58 years. It is time for China to follow the words of Deng Xiaoping, its greatest 20th-century leader, and "seek truth from facts."

America had to do that. For several decades the United States recognized the old Republic of China government on Taiwan as the government of China. But in fact it wasn't, and in 1978 the U.S. government had to bow to reality. Since 1991 Taiwan has bid for membership as "Republic of China on Taiwan" or "Republic of China (Taiwan)," but it is now asking simply as "Taiwan."

And that is what it is.

U.N. membership says nothing about a country's permanence. East and West Germany were both U.N. members, as were North and South Yemen. The Soviet Union was a member, as was Czechoslovakia, now separated into two countries with U.N. membership. Membership denotes a fact.

Taiwan's government is proposing an island-wide referendum on U.N. membership. The U.S. government, which informally backs Taiwan's defense, opposes a vote as needlessly provocative to China. In Taiwan's internal votes and elections, the U.S. should be neutral. Taiwan's call for a referendum on U.N. membership might be provocative to China, but the objective is reasonable.

Taiwan needs to be in the General Assembly. It needs to be in U.N.-affiliated agencies such as the World Health Organization and the International Labor Organization — not because Taiwan's independence is right and good, but because it is real.