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.”
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