The winds of change are blowing this month as Taiwan prepares to vote in what promises to be a watershed presidential election. As former US President Theodore Roosevelt said in 1910, "A great democracy must be progressive or it will soon cease to be a great democracy." If he were alive today, Roosevelt would be impressed because Taiwan's democracy has progressed at blinding speed--from the end of martial law in 1987, to the first direct election of the nation's president in 1996, to the transfer of executive power from the Kuomintang (KMT) to the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in 2000, and finally to the end of the second term of the nation's first DPP president in May. But there is much progress yet to be made, and at the top of the agenda is the nation's bid to once again participate as a member of the United Nations.

Both ends of Taiwan's political spectrum support participation in the UN, although they differ on the name to be used. The KMT proposes membership in the UN under "names conducive both to the success of the mission and to maintaining dignity," while the DPP proposes membership using the name "Taiwan."

Last September, police estimated that more than 100,000 people took to the streets of Kaohsiung as DPP presidential candidate Frank Hsieh guided a march supporting his party's UN bid. Hsieh led the rally in chanting "UN for Taiwan" in English. Meanwhile, in Taichung, police estimated that more than 50,000 turned out to support KMT presidential candidate Ma Ying-jeou, who said, "We are seeking to return to the UN with a pragmatic and flexible approach."

The UN bid is a reflection of the growing sense of responsibility Taiwanese feel for shaping their own future. Instead of being dictated to by the United States or China, which see Taiwan through the prism of their own interests, Taiwanese are becoming more confident in asserting their international rights and responsibilities. A telephone survey conducted last December of 1,067 adults by Taiwan's Mainland Affairs Council asked: "China has put pressure on Taiwan over the [UN] referendum via the US. Do you disapprove of the referendum because the US is against it?" The response was overwhelming, with more than 75 percent of the respondents answering "no." It is a sign of progress that Taiwanese are now speaking with such a confident voice, a voice that is clamoring for membership in the world body.

Some have characterized the referendums as doomed, because if either were passed in Taiwan and then approved by the UN General Assembly, China would undoubtedly bring things to a crashing halt with its veto power as a permanent member of the UN Security Council. But to focus on the ultimate success or failure of the nation's UN bid misses the point. What is important is that Taiwanese are now expressing their own will, and that this is capturing the attention of the world.

Through their support for UN participation, both parties have drawn international attention to the unconscionable fact that a nation of 23 million people is without representation at the world body. The UN has 192 member states, and Taiwan has a bigger population than 145 of them.

Taiwan's exclusion from the UN means the country is not protected by the World Health Organization, and thus cannot share common resources in fighting global outbreaks of disease. Taiwan also cannot participate in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in the quest to slow global warming. Finally, Taiwan is not allowed to share its singular experience of peacefully building a democracy and developing a knowledge-based economy because it cannot participate where this would do the most good--in UN-sponsored aid programs in developing countries.

The United States and China may hope that the current furor in Taiwan over UN membership will go away. It will not because the voices of 23 million people cannot be silenced.