UN demands that Taiwanese present China-issued documents to visit a public hearing at the UN’s offices in Geneva, Switzerland, are discriminatory and unacceptable, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
“The UN claims to respect freedom for all, regardless of race, nationality, political or other identities... To serve the political purpose of a particular member nation goes against its mission,” the ministry said in a statement.
The statement came after a group of Taiwanese students were barred from observing a UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) session in Geneva on Monday.
Photo: courtesy of National Chung Cheng University Department of Labor Relations professor Liuhuang Li-Chuan
The group, led by National Chung Cheng University Department of Labor Relations professor Liu Huang Li-chuan (劉黃麗娟), was first turned away earlier that day from the International Labour Conference, reportedly because their Republic of China passports are not recognized by the UN.
Liu Huang said UNHRC staff said that “Taiwan is not a country” and that the group would need to provide “Taiwan Compatriot Travel Documents” — a permit issued by Chinese authorities allowing Taiwanese to travel to China — with their passports to be admitted.
Liu Huang said she sought the assistance of UN Office at Geneva Director-General Michael Moller, who told her that nothing could be done, as “Taiwan is not following the ‘one China’ principle.”
“Was I speaking to a spokesman for China?” Liu Huang said on Facebook.
The UNHCR should provide everyone with the opportunity to learn about human rights, Liu Huang said, adding that the agency is apparently now “servicing the Chinese government.”
This is a serious situation, as China is using UN procedures to “achieve its dreams of unification by [forcing] the use of the Taiwan compatriot travel document,” Liu Huang said, adding that the government should beware of the extent of Beijing’s influence.
The ministry said its office in Geneva was aware of the incident and had expressed to the UN Office at Geneva that Taiwan “could not accept the discriminatory actions.”
The ministry criticized the UN as having gone against the universal values in its charter, saying that it would continue to protest the action, while asking nations friendly toward Taiwan to provide assistance.
A UN spokeswoman did not comment directly on the incident, but told reporters that visitors must present an identification document that is issued by “a country that is recognized as a state by the [UN] General Assembly.”
Additional reporting by AFP
POLITICAL AGENDA: Beijing’s cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival events are part of a ‘cultural united front’ aimed at promoting unification with Taiwan, academics said Local authorities in China have been inviting Taiwanese to participate in cross-strait Mid-Autumn Festival celebrations centered around ideals of “family and nation,” a move Taiwanese academics said politicizes the holiday to promote the idea of “one family” across the Taiwan Strait. Sources said that China’s Fujian Provincial Government is organizing about 20 cross-strait-themed events in cities including Quanzhou, Nanping, Sanming and Zhangzhou. In Zhangzhou, a festival scheduled for Wednesday is to showcase Minnan-language songs and budaixi (布袋戲) glove puppetry to highlight cultural similarities between Taiwan and the region. Elsewhere, Jiangsu Province is hosting more than 10 similar celebrations in Taizhou, Changzhou, Suzhou,
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
COGNITIVE WARFARE: Chinese fishing boats transmitting fake identification signals are meant to test Taiwan’s responses to different kinds of perceived incursions, a report said Chinese vessels are transmitting fake signals in Taiwan’s waters as a form of cognitive warfare, testing Taipei’s responses to various types of incursions, a report by the Institute for the Study of War said on Friday. Several Chinese fishing vessels transmitted fake automatic identification system (AIS) signals in Taiwan’s waters last month, with one mimicking a Russian warship and another impersonating a Chinese law enforcement vessel, the report said. Citing data from Starboard Maritime Intelligence, the report said that throughout August and last month, the Chinese fishing boat Minshiyu 06718 (閩獅漁06718) sailed through the Taiwan Strait while intermittently transmitting its own AIS
CHINESE INFILTRATION: Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime and the reported CCP links of a major logistics company present a national security threat, an expert said The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday. The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital. The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the
RSS