UN General Assembly
2011

our important work. Surely, in the context of an ever- expanding and inclusive United Nations, the 23 million citizens of Taiwan can, at the very least, be allowed to meaningfully participate in the specialized agencies of the Organization — and that should extend beyond the World Trade Organization and the World Health Assembly. Mr. Al-Nasser assumes the presidency amid a cyclone of international turbulence and change. We may not be able to direct those winds, but we can, and must, adjust our sails to harness the energy and the potential of this moment, while riding out the storms of uncertainty and upheaval. Former United States President Abraham Lincoln once said, in a different context: “The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew.” Our stormy present requires similar resolve, creativity and action. Let us rise to the occasion and fulfil the immense potential of this peaceful global