The UN Correspondents Association (UNCA) is challenging China's representative at the UN to debate the Taiwan issue.
In a letter to Wang Yingfan (王英凡), permanent representative of the People's Republic of China to the UN, the UNCA said it is organizing a panel discussion on the future of Taiwan and its legal status.
"I wonder if you would be prepared to participate in such a debate? Or, if you prefer, we would be happy to organize a separate briefing for you alone to address correspondents on this issue," said the letter signed by Tony Jenkins, president of the UNCA.
The UNCA was upset by China's political maneuvering last Friday that led to the disruption of the press briefing by Andrew Hsia (夏立言), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, who was due to speak to the UNCA in its club about the SARS crisis and Taiwan's efforts to work with the World Health Organization.
"This has disturbed relations between the press and the Secretariat, and it has done serious harm to the image of the PRC within the UN press corps," Jenkins wrote.
He reminded Wang that Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, to which China is a signatory, states: "Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers."
"In China, I understand, the media is still subject to strict government censorship, but the headquarters of the UN is governed by a higher code: that enshrined in Article 19 quoted above," he said.
Jenkins cited the UNCA's "tradition of using our club for free expression of views" to emphasize "we have no intention of allowing that right to be abridged by the People's Republic of China or any other member state."
He then went on to challenge Wang to participate in the forum his association is planning to host to discuss the Taiwan issue.
It is not immediately known whether Wang has accepted the invitation.
Hsia, on the other hand, said he was prepared to face anyone on this subject. He said Taiwan has been asking the UN to study the issue of the fact that the 23 million people in Taiwan are not represented in the UN.
Jenkins said, for the UNCA members, the Taiwan issue is one of "legitimate news interest." That's why the UNCA has invited Hsia to brief members and now wants people of "all shades of opinion" to join in the proposed panel discussion.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to