The US Department of State on Friday launched a “TweetforTaiwan” campaign to rally support for Taiwan’s participation in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA).
The annual WHA, the WHO’s decisionmaking body, is expected to meet virtually on May 18 for its 73rd session.
Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, but has not been invited since.
Photo: Reuters
After the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the US’ de facto embassy in Taiwan, on Friday launched a “WHACountdown” series of Facebook posts, the department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs took to Twitter to urge support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA.
“The US believes firmly that #Taiwan belongs at the table when the world discusses #COVID19 and other threats to global health. Before 2017, Beijing didn’t object to Taiwan joining the World Health Assembly as an Observer. What’s changed? #TweetforTaiwan,” the bureau wrote as part of a volley of tweets.
The bureau also shared President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) post on Taiwan’s success in containing the pandemic, writing: “@iingwen, the contrast with the #PRC is striking. China’s response to the outbreak of #COVID19 has been to hide the facts, muzzle its scientists and censor discussion.”
The US mission to the UN wrote on Twitter that “@UN was founded to serve as a venue for all voices, a forum that welcomes a diversity of views & perspectives, & promotes human freedom. Barring #Taiwan from setting foot on UN grounds is an affront not just to the proud Taiwanese people, but to UN principles. #TweetforTaiwan.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the US for its support and creative campaign, adding that the hashtag campaign fully demonstrates Taiwan-US rapport.
Meanwhile, the Chinese mission to the UN in Geneva, Switzerland, blasted the tweet campaign as “[a]nother political trick,” saying that UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 “has long put an end to the Taiwan question.”
“Strongly oppose using this question to interefere [sic] in China’s internal affairs. Trying to shift the blame for inadequate response to #COVID19 in US? No way,” its tweet read, while tagging the bureau and the US Mission to the UN at the end of its post.
The Chinese mission on Friday issued a statement voicing its objection to the US mission’s stated support for Taiwan.
“There is only one China in the world. The government of the People’s Republic China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of China,” it said.
It urged the US to immediately stop speaking for Taiwan, and politicizing and undermining the international response to the pandemic, while abiding by its so-called “one China” principle, the Three Joint Communiques and UN General Assembly Resolution 2758.
WHEELING AND DEALING? Hou You-yi, Ko Wen-je, Eric Chu and Ma Ying-jeou are under investigation for allegedly offering bribes for the other side to drop out of the race Taipei prosecutors have started an investigation into allegations that four top politicians involved in attempts to form a “blue-white” presidential ticket have contravened election regulations. Listed as defendants are Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) presidential candidate and New Taipei City Mayor Hou You-yi (侯友宜), KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫), former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the KMT and Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman and presidential candidate Ko Wen-je (柯文哲). The case stemmed from judicial complaints filed last month with the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office alleging that the KMT (blue) and the TPP (white) had engaged in bribery by offering money or other enticements
COUNTER DISINFORMATION: More engagement and media literacy are needed to push back against misinformation and claims that the US is an unreliable partner, the AIT director said The US is “confident” that Taiwan does not face an imminent threat of a Chinese invasion, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Sandra Oudkirk told a US public radio show, adding that Washington remains committed to defensively arming the nation. She made the comment during an interview on All Things Considered, broadcast on Friday on US-based National Public Radio. “There is an important distinction between making plans and training troops, and getting ready to do something,” Oudkirk said, on whether she thinks Beijing plans to attack Taiwan in the near future. Chinese officials have told Washington that “their preference is for peaceful reunification,
EXPOSED: Some Taipei wardens reported joining the trips out of peer pressure, while others said they were relieved it was made public so they could refuse, a city councilor said Nearly 30 percent of Taipei borough wardens have joined group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government, leading prosecutors probing potential Chinese interference in January’s elections to question local officials, an investigation showed. Democratic Progressive Party Taipei City councilors Chien Shu-pei (簡舒培) and Chen E-jun (陳怡君) have reported cases of Taipei borough wardens inviting residents to join inexpensive privately organized group tours to China that were partially funded by the Chinese government. The six-day trips reportedly cost NT$10,000 to NT$15,000, the councilors said. An investigation by the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister newspaper) showed that nearly 30 percent
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
RSS