WASHINGTON (AP) — Taiwan, a major economy the size of Poland but not represented in global organizations, is making a major push to join the International Monetary Fund, the 190-country body that provides emergency loans and other financial support to its members.
“Taiwan’s membership in the IMF would help strengthen financial resilience,” the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office in Washington said during the IMF and World Bank annual meetings this week. The office serves as Taiwan’s de facto embassy to the United States
The move is part of a broader effort to boost the self-governing island’s global status. Taiwan also aims to attend the UN World Health Organization’s annual World Health Assembly and join Interpol. The US and its allies are Taiwan’s supporters.
But China, which views Taiwan as a breakaway province and is threatening to annex it by force, has blocked such efforts and insists on representing Taiwan in international forums. The island is now referred to in IMF literature as the “Taiwan Province of China”.
In 2020, then-President Donald Trump signed a law requiring the United States to advocate for Taiwan’s membership or observer status in international organizations such as the IMF.
The US State Department said the world will “benefit from Taiwan’s expertise and resources to address some of today’s most difficult global challenges.” It said it would continue to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not required and promote Taiwan’s meaningful participation in groups where membership is not possible.
The IMF did not comment on Taiwan’s membership efforts. The United States has the largest say within the group, but China is also influential and has more voting power than any other country except the United States and Japan.
Bo Li, who served as vice governor of the People’s Bank of China, now serves as deputy managing director of the IMF.
The idea of Taiwan joining the IMF is to protect the democratically ruled island from a financial attack by China, which is determined to seize the island by force if necessary.
While Washington worries about a military conflict in the Taiwan Strait, analysts and observers have raised concerns that Beijing could wage economic and cyber warfare to force a Taiwan surrender.
In a report this month, research group Taiwan Academy of Banking and Finance warned that China could try to destabilize Taiwan’s currency by placing huge bets against Taiwan’s stock market and manipulating foreign exchange markets. Joining the IMF would give Taiwan access to an emergency fund with which to defend itself.
The US House of Representatives has approved a bill that would direct the United States to lobby for Taiwan’s IMF membership. The legislation reflects growing concerns among Republicans and Democrats about Beijing’s growing threat to Taiwan, an island crucial to the global supply of computer chips.
Rep. Patrick McHenry, a North Carolina Republican and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, argued in January that the United States needed to look beyond Beijing’s military threats and lend a hand Taiwan with financial defense.
“As one of the most advanced and innovative economies in the world, Taiwan should be included in the fund’s activities,” McHenry said.
Taiwan does not have a seat at the United Nations. But California Rep. Young Kim has pointed out that Kosovo, in southeastern Europe, is an IMF member despite not being recognized by the United Nations
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AP writer Fatima Hussein contributed from Washington.
