An individual initiative, making a call to remove China from the UN’S Security Council after a month, has so far attracted nearly 35,000 signatures.
Dr. Le Trung Tinh, the author of the petition, said that as of May 15, 2020, the number of people signing from abroad has even exceeded the number of people signing in Vietnam.
The UK, the US and HongKong are the top three places on the table in terms of the number of people signing petitions. Vietnam ranks fifth on this list, behind India.
There are also many people from Japan, Pakistan, Brazil, Korea, Thailand, Finland, Macao, Sweden, Mexico, Singapore, India, etc. have signed in the petition.
The petition comes in the context that China is increasingly aggressive in disputed waters in the South China Sea.
“Derived from the South China Sea issue”
Talking to BBC News Vietnamese, Dr. Le Trung Tinh, currently living and working in the UK, the author of the bilingual English and Vietnamese petition, said:
“The reason I wrote this petition and called on the community to sign it is that China is a country that consistently violates the most fundamental principles and purposes of the UN Charter.”
“The fact that they have long held a critical position in the UN goes against the will and operation of this organization of mankind. Therefore, China’s removal from the UN Security Council represents the will of the community with peace-loving inhabitants of the world, who value international justice.”
“For Vietnam, China has repeatedly violated the UN Charter to invade the Hoang Sa (Paracels) in 1974 and the Trường Sa (Spratlys) in 1988, causing casualties for many Vietnamese navy soldiers.
China is becoming more and more aggressive in the use of force in the South China Sea. The most recent example is the Chinese sinking of Vietnamese fishing vessels.”
“China does all this while acting as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. This shows that it relies more on power than respecting the principles and responsibilities of its position to behave properly.”
“The exclusion of China from the UN Security Council will show that if they do not behave properly, they may be eliminated. This will make China behave more moderately, live properly with Vietnam and other neighboring countries.”
How practical is the petition?
So far, many petitions have been made, drawing wide support from the public. Most recently, the petition calling for the resignation of Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Tedros resigned has gathered more than 1 million signatures. However, up to now, the WHO Director General is still in office.
So, does the petition have a voice in actual decisions?
Facing this question, Dr. Le Trung Tinh said that in addition to expressing the wishes of the community, the petition is “a way of communication, arousing people’s thoughts and conscience.”
“The information effect is immense. Among the people signing the petition, many are British, American, Japanese, Indian …
They know of China’s invasion of the Paracels and Spratlys, the unruly U-shaped line, and the possibilities and ways to force China out of the Security Council. This shows that this is a matter of strong attention and support of many countries and people around the world.”
“Of course it is difficult to really do this but nothing is unchangeable in today’s increasingly open world with new challenges, transnational issues that require every country, especially big countries need to behave responsibly.”
“The Covid 19 catastrophe is an example. The old order from the years after World War II can be reviewed. The Chinese position of the Security Council is not an obvious forever, especially when they behave improperly.”
“Article 6 of the UN Charter clearly states:” A member of the UN who repeatedly violates the Principles of the present Charter may be expelled by the General Assembly from the Organization at the request of the Security Council” so difficult but not impossible.”
According to an Indian newspaper, TheHillstimes, the current UN Security Council rules (currently 5 permanent members and 10 non-permanent members) make it nearly impossible to eliminate China from this organization.
Specifically, when the UN Charter was enacted in 1945, there were no provisions on how to exclude a member from the group. Meanwhile, most of the UN issues depend on the Security Council’s decision.
“Will China be dismissed from Security Council?” of Kumar Ramesh in mid-April 2020 said that, for China, like all its permanent members, its greatest power is its veto power, according to Article 27C of the UN Charter.
It stipulates that any resolution passed must have 9 votes, including the consent of 5 permanent members.
Since nowhere in the charter does address the removal of Security Council members, there may be the following ways to eliminate China, according to The Hills Times.
Legal way: Amending the UN Charter, adding to the provision to remove a member. But the biggest challenge here is that the amendment requires the consent of five permanent members with two-thirds of the UN General Assembly. Clearly China will not vote to exclude itself. In addition, though Article 06 of the Charter stipulates that “action” will be taken if a member state violates its principles. But this also faces the challenge just mentioned.
Unlawful: Countries boycotted China due to carelessness that triggered an outbreak of the global corona virus pandemic, and the spread of false news. But this is a major challenge in the global economy, when every country needs China, so it is unlikely that they will support the isolation of China.
The last way: Completely reforming the UN.
Thereby, adding permanent members and additional terms deporting members. However, this will not be possible within the next 50-100 years, according to The Hills Times analysis.
“Door of hope”
Mr. Le Trung Tinh said what he thought was the “door of hope.”
“For example, if Germany raised the issue of discussing permanent Chinese membership to the Security Council, nine other countries agreed (for example the UK, France, the US and the six non-permanent member countries). The subject may be given a special session of the General Assembly to decide.”
“It is true that the process will not be simple and there will be a lot of political bargaining, but it is not impossible. Especially in the situation where every country now wants to bill the economic losses due to Covid-19. China.”
“Every organization is man-made and can change for the benefit and well-being of people. It all depends on whether we speak strong enough or not, and with the Petition. This is through your signature.”
‘Why do I sign‘?
In the reasons for signing the petition, there are many different ideas to many people and countries.
It is noteworthy that a large number of Hong Kong people on the occasion of signing the petition expressed their views about the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
Bruce Wong (Hong Kong): “I am Hongkonger, not Chinese. The CCP has committed brutal acts against humanity against Hong Kong people.”
Guruprit Singh (Hong Kong): “I sign because China is not worthy of being on that council. They are trying to suppress the voice of Hongkong people.”
James Lee (Hong Kong): “The CCP is very authoritarian. Xi Jinping, the authoritarian leader of the CCP, rules the country in an absolute dictatorial way.
In the country, he suppressed the freedom of the people and robbed their property and land. He beat all dissidents and treated them cruelly.
Most people here do not have freedom and live a chaotic life. Ethnic minorities in Tibet and Xinjiang have their own religion, culture and way of life.
But Xi forced them to withdraw their traditions and follow the Han majority. The CCP seeks to make allegations of terrorism against them.
Internationally, the CCP has continuously invaded the waters of Southeast Asian countries. Threatening to occupy Taiwan by force.
Take advantage of international investment in China of countries around the world by copying trademarks and penetrating all aspects including education, politics, technology, business and elections etc. .. “
Benjamin Kyou (California, USA): China has violated all UN principles and human rights.”
May Taraphaisal (Bangkok, Thailand): China is promoting the values of the Communist Party to rule the world. China also violates human rights.”
Vinh Nguyen (Vietnam): “I signed because China is the biggest enemy of the humanity.”
David Trinh (Vietnam): “It makes sense to eliminate a bully.”
Thoibao.de (Translated)
