I am a Taiwanese girl currently on an exchange visit in Lyon, France. I attempted to visit the European headquarters of the UN in Geneva on Tuesday and was unfortunately denied entrance to the building, which, I believe, is normally open to all.
According to the statement of the officers, the "problem" was my nationality. Other Taiwanese have visited the building without being questioned, thus making it an issue of newly settled policy.
I would love to ask for more information about this policy against the Taiwanese.
Being denied access to an international site merely because of one's nationality was a great surprise, especially since I had already passed the security check. I wonder how my nationality could have been seen as a threat.
I now have cause to doubt any future statements from the UN about human rights. I fear that what I came across on Tuesday was an act aimed at destroying the basic value of all humans.
Huang Yu-ting
Lyon, France
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