The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday condemned the UN for referring to Taiwan as a “province of China” in a Tweet that used the same graphic the UN Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) had used to list on countries and regions, which have recognized same-sex marriage that prompted a protest last week.
The UN’s siding with China on its position regarding Taiwan had caused human rights to be politicized, the ministry’s statement said.
The UN was seriously misleading the international community, and had deviated from the principle of neutrality and from the spirit of its charter, the ministry said.
Photo: Screen grab from UN’s Twitter account
UN Women posted the graphic on its Facebook page on Sunday last week, prompting protests from Taiwanese and the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in New York, and on Saturday the ministry announced that UN Women had removed the graphic from its Facebook page.
The ministry questioned the re-emergence of the graphic on Saturday in a tweet that said: “More than 1/3 of the world’s countries criminalize same-sex relationships. All people should be able to choose their partners freely in #FamiliesOfToday. progress.unwomen.org #WomensProgress2019 via @UN_Women.”
The ministry has instructed TECO New York to lodge a protest with the UN and seek to have the error corrected.
“It is owing to the fact that Taiwan is a nation where democracy and human rights are valued that same-sex marriage can be openly and rationally discussed there, and that it can become the first country in Asia to achieve marriage equality,” it said.
“This has nothing to do with China, an authoritarian country that regularly violates human rights,” it said, and it called on the UN to “recognize the fact that China and Taiwan do not belong to each other.”
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) yesterday responded directly to the UN on Twitter, writing: “@UN screws up again! #Taiwan isn’t a province of #China. Taiwan legalized same-sex marriage, not China. Same-sex marriage is criminalized & #HumanRights & #ReligiousFreedom are suppressed in China. Taiwan is a proud democracy with a popularly elected president & parliament.”
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
Taiwanese Olympic badminton men’s doubles gold medalist Wang Chi-lin (王齊麟) and his new partner, Chiu Hsiang-chieh (邱相榤), clinched the men’s doubles title at the Yonex Taipei Open yesterday, becoming the second Taiwanese team to win a title in the tournament. Ranked 19th in the world, the Taiwanese duo defeated Kang Min-hyuk and Ki Dong-ju of South Korea 21-18, 21-15 in a pulsating 43-minute final to clinch their first doubles title after teaming up last year. Wang, the men’s doubles gold medalist at the 2020 and 2024 Olympics, partnered with Chiu in August last year after the retirement of his teammate Lee Yang
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
The number of births in Taiwan fell to an all-time monthly low last month, while the population declined for the 16th consecutive month, Ministry of the Interior data released on Friday showed. The number of newborns totaled 8,684, which is 704 births fewer than in March and the lowest monthly figure on record, the ministry said. That is equivalent to roughly one baby born every five minutes and an annual crude birthrate of 4.52 per 1,000 people, the ministry added. Meanwhile, 17,205 deaths were recorded, resulting in a natural population decrease of 8,521, the data showed. More people are also leaving Taiwan, with net
RSS