The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it is working hard to persuade the UN Office in Geneva to issue press passes to Taiwanese journalists to cover the 58th World Health Assembly (WHA), which is scheduled to take place in Geneva from May 16 to May 25.
In a statement, the ministry "strongly protested" the Geneva office's rule that only journalists holding passports from states recognized by the UN General Assembly will get media accreditation for the WHA.
Taiwan will lodge its 9th application for observer status in the WHA next Monday. The WHA meets annually and is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
UN officials in Geneva, however, rejected Taiwanese reporters' applications for press badges to cover the event and told them they could not get media accreditation because they are not from a state recognized by the UN General Assembly.
"It is the belief of the ministry that the UN should respect the universal value of press freedom. The UN should protect journalists' rights and should not fail to do so because of political pressure," the ministry statement said.
Criticizing China as the "mastermind" behind the UN Geneva office's refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists, the ministry said this situation revealed that China has not been sincere when repeating its "goodwill" toward the Taiwanese people in recent days.
"It is simply pursuing a two-faced strategy on Taiwan," the ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
The ministry said that since the Geneva office refused to issue press passes to Taiwanese journalists during last year's WHA, it instructed the country's representative offices in New York, where UN headquarters are located, and in Geneva to try to negotiate with UN information officials on the issue prior to this year's WHA.
"But the UN still succumbs to political pressure and sacrifices press freedom, which it has been actively advocating, in order to seek compromise in international politics.
The ministry is very disappointed and finds the matter deeply regrettable," the statement said.
MOFA stressed that the UN has no right to express its opinions on Taiwan's national status.
"Currently, there are 25 UN member states or observers that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. This is an undeniable fact and the UN should respect this," the ministry said.
MOFA said it is unheard of for the UN to block journalists from covering UN-related events because they hold passports issued by states that are not members of the UN.
It pointed out that Swiss reporters did not have any problems getting media accreditation covering UN events before Switzerland joined the UN as a member.
UN information officials once told Taiwanese diplomats in private that they have "other considerations" in handling media accreditation for Taiwanese journalists in the WHA, the ministry said.
"China not only oppresses press freedom in its own land but also stretches its hand into the UN, depriving Taiwanese journalists of their rights. Voices from all sides should criticize such behavior," the ministry said in the statement.
The ministry said it is soliciting support from international journalists' associations for Taiwanese reporters.
DRONE CENTRAL: Taiwan aims to become Asia’s democratic hub for drones, with most exports focused on high-quality military-grade models, an official said Taiwan’s drone industry is expected to expand significantly by 2030, producing 100,000 units per month and exporting half of them, the Ministry of Economic Affairs said yesterday. Current drone production capacity is about 15,000 units per month, but the industry can quickly scale up as demand increases, Industrial Development Administration Director-General Chiou Chyou-huey (邱求慧) told a news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s drone output grew 2.5-fold last year to NT$12.9 billion (US$408.3 million) under a government program to develop the uncrewed vehicle sector, he said. The Executive Yuan in October last year approved plans to invest NT$44.2 billion into domestic production of uncrewed aerial
A signaling system malfunction disrupted high-speed rail (HSR) services beginning at 8am today, with trains temporarily reduced to three northbound and three southbound trains per hour as authorities conduct inspections. The malfunction occurred on a section of track in Miaoli County during pre-operation checks early this morning, forcing northbound and southbound trains to use a single track, the HSR operator said. The regular schedule has been replaced with three hourly trains offering only nonreserved seating in each direction, stopping at every station, it said, adding that business class cars would still have reserved seating. Departures from terminal stations are scheduled at the top
WARNING: China should stop engaging in actions that undermine regional peace and stability, as it would only build resentment among people across the Strait, the CGA said China has deployed more than 100 navy, coast guard and other vessels in waters from the Yellow Sea to the South China Sea and the western Pacific since US President Donald Trump and Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) met in Beijing, National Security Council Secretary-General Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday. “In this part of the world, #China is the one & only PROBLEM wrecking the #StatusQuo & threatening regional peace & stability,” Wu wrote on X. In a separate post, he said Beijing was coercing Taiwan’s maritime domain, calling it illegal and provocative, after the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) expelled a
VERBOSE VESSELS: A CGA cutter and a China Coast Guard exchanged verbal barbs for more than a day in Taiwanese-controlled waters before the Chinese vessel left The Taiwanese and Chinese coast guards had a standoff near the strategically located Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the north of the South China Sea, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The two sides engaged in intense radio exchanges over sovereignty claims during the 33-hour standoff. China Coast Guard vessel 3501 eventually left the restricted waters, 26.6 nautical miles (49.2km) west of the Pratas Islands, at 5pm yesterday, the CGA said. Lying approximately between southern Taiwan and Hong Kong, the Taiwan-controlled Pratas are seen by some security experts as vulnerable to Chinese attack due to their distance — more than
RSS