The organizers of the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally yesterday held hands once again along with several non-governmental organizations to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to grant Taiwan observer status in the health body.
Meanwhile, the WHO stated that the new accreditation procedures which will bar Taiwanese reporters from the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) were not created under Chinese influence.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
accreditation
While the office responsible for the accreditation process, the UN Department of Public Information, stated on Tuesday that reporters holding Taiwanese passports would not be granted press passes to the WHA, department official Katherine Segli yesterday further said that the newspaper also had to be headquartered in a UN member state for accreditation.
According to Segli, if the journalist seeking accreditation holds a passport from a UN member state but writes for a newspaper headquartered in Taiwan, then accreditation could not be granted.
At the same time, a Taiwanese passport is grounds for the rejection of accreditation application, no matter which publication the journalists work for.
In light of the new policies, several political leaders cautioned that excluding Taiwan from the WHO was "health apartheid."
"Infectious diseases will not stop at Taiwan's borders, nor will infectious diseases be confined to Taiwan," chief organizer Ng Chiau-tong (
The Feb. 28 Hand-in-Hand Rally saw the formation of a 500km human chain to symbolize the protection of Taiwan from Chinese missiles.
"Many people say that gaining observer status for Taiwan is a `mission impossible,' but the 228 rally was mission impossible as well. But it was accomplished in the end," said Lin Shih-chia (
Ng said that Taiwan's population surpassed that of at least three-fourths of the WHO members.
Linking hands
Raising linked hands, the 228 Hand in Hand Rally planners said in unison, "Say Yes to Taiwan, Say No to China."
According to the Medical Professionals' Alliance, a total of 71 people representing at least 10 organizations will be heading for Geneva to support Taiwan's bid.
Representatives including Presidential advisor Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志) and General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Reverend William J.K. Lo (羅榮光), departed for Europe yesterday in a last-minute effort to garner support for Taiwan's application for observer status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also said yesterday that several media groups, including the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), said they support the accreditation of Taiwanese reporters.
policy changes
Recent policy changes made public on Tuesday by the UN Department of Public Information on the accreditation process to obtain press passes for covering the WHA will bar Taiwanese passport holders from entry into the assembly building.
While WHO spokesman Iain Simpson yesterday said that China had not had a hand in creating the new regulations, MOFA spokesman Richard Shih (
Shih also said that it does not bode well for Taiwan that this year's WHA president hails from Pakistan, a country that has traditionally been supportive of China's policies and that could turn the vote against Taiwan.
US climber Alex Honnold is to attempt to scale Taipei 101 without a rope and harness in a live Netflix special on Jan. 24, the streaming platform announced on Wednesday. Accounting for the time difference, the two-hour broadcast of Honnold’s climb, called Skyscraper Live, is to air on Jan. 23 in the US, Netflix said in a statement. Honnold, 40, was the first person ever to free solo climb the 900m El Capitan rock formation in Yosemite National Park — a feat that was recorded and later made into the 2018 documentary film Free Solo. Netflix previewed Skyscraper Live in October, after videos
Starting on Jan. 1, YouBike riders must have insurance to use the service, and a six-month trial of NT$5 coupons under certain conditions would be implemented to balance bike shortages, a joint statement from transportation departments across Taipei, New Taipei City and Taoyuan announced yesterday. The rental bike system operator said that coupons would be offered to riders to rent bikes from full stations, for riders who take out an electric-assisted bike from a full station, and for riders who return a bike to an empty station. All riders with YouBike accounts are automatically eligible for the program, and each membership account
A classified Pentagon-produced, multiyear assessment — the Overmatch brief — highlighted unreported Chinese capabilities to destroy US military assets and identified US supply chain choke points, painting a disturbing picture of waning US military might, a New York Times editorial published on Monday said. US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth’s comments in November last year that “we lose every time” in Pentagon-conducted war games pitting the US against China further highlighted the uncertainty about the US’ capability to intervene in the event of a Chinese invasion of Taiwan. “It shows the Pentagon’s overreliance on expensive, vulnerable weapons as adversaries field cheap, technologically
NUMBERs IMBALANCE: More than 4 million Taiwanese have visited China this year, while only about half a million Chinese have visited here Beijing has yet to respond to Taiwan’s requests for negotiation over matters related to the recovery of cross-strait tourism, the Tourism Administration said yesterday. Taiwan’s tourism authority issued the statement after Chinese-language daily the China Times reported yesterday that the government’s policy of banning group tours to China does not stop Taiwanese from visiting the country. As of October, more than 4.2 million had traveled to China this year, exceeding last year. Beijing estimated the number of Taiwanese tourists in China could reach 4.5 million this year. By contrast, only 500,000 Chinese tourists are expected in Taiwan, the report said. The report
RSS