The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) accused the UN of violating human rights because of its continued refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists or anyone working for Taiwanese media outlets.
For the past four years, journalists carrying Taiwanese passports or working for Taiwanese media outlets have been barred from covering the annual World Health Assembly (WHA).
The refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists has been attirbuted to the fact that Taiwan is not a member of the UN.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the IPI said the decision to bar Taiwanese journalists from being accredited to attend any events related to the UN or its subsidiaries, such as the WHO, is a 昼erious violation of press freedom and the principle of universality of human rights.?br />
The IPI is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries. Other international journalist organizations, such as the International Federation of Journalists, have also been vocal about the UN旧 unfair treatment towards Taiwanese journalists.
ARTICLE 19
戦PI regards this decision as a serious violation of press freedom and the principle of universality of human rights,?said the press release, citing Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which grants everyone the right to 昼eek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.?br />
背n addition, the IPI quoted Article 2 of the Declaration, which provides that all rights set forth therein apply to everyone and that 嘆o distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.?br />
NO JUSTIFICATION
声ccordingly, it remains difficult to understand the justification for the UN旧 discrimination against certain journalists based on the political status of the country to which they belong,?the statement said.
声dministrative obstacles to press freedom and access to information are serious human rights violations,?IPI Director David Dadge said.
巣e urge the UN to revise such policies so they properly reflect the fundamental UN principles of equality and respect for press freedom. If this is not done, there is a very real danger to members of the Taiwanese public, who rely on the media for information about public health matters,?he said.
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
VIGILANCE: The military is paying close attention to actions that might damage peace and stability in the region, the deputy minister of national defense said The People’s Republic of China (PRC) might consider initiating a hack on Taiwanese networks on May 20, the day of the inauguration ceremony of president-elect William Lai (賴清德), sources familiar with cross-strait issues said. While US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken’s statement of the US expectation “that all sides will conduct themselves with restraint and prudence in the period ahead” would prevent military actions by China, Beijing could still try to sabotage Taiwan’s inauguration ceremony, the source said. China might gain access to the video screens outside of the Presidential Office Building and display embarrassing messages from Beijing, such as congratulating Lai
Four China Coast Guard ships briefly sailed through prohibited waters near Kinmen County, Taipei said, urging Beijing to stop actions that endanger navigation safety. The Chinese ships entered waters south of Kinmen, 5km from the Chinese city of Xiamen, at about 3:30pm on Monday, the Coast Guard Administration said in a statement later the same day. The ships “sailed out of our prohibited and restricted waters” about an hour later, the agency said, urging Beijing to immediately stop “behavior that endangers navigation safety.” Ministry of National Defense spokesman Sun Li-fang (孫立方) yesterday told reporters that Taiwan would boost support to the Coast Guard