The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was negotiating with the UN following a report that a Taiwanese tourist was denied entry to the UN headquarters in Europe after presenting her Republic of China (ROC) passport.
Tsai Yu-ling (蔡淯鈴) said in a Facebook post that on a recent trip to Geneva, Switzerland, she wanted to join a daily guided tour at the UN headquarters, but when she showed her ROC passport at the entrance, she was told she could not use it to enter the facility.
Tsai said she told the staff member that she had used her ROC passport to visit the UN headquarters a few years ago and asked why she could not do so now. The man replied that regulations had changed and she could not enter the building with an ROC passport.
Tsai said the man then asked another staff member to explain the changes to her.
“Taiwan is part of China,” Tsai quoted the person as saying. “Can you please present your Chinese passport and a Chinese ID card? You can enter and visit the headquarters as long as you can show us either one of those documents.”
“I am Taiwanese and I only have a Taiwanese passport. Taiwan is not part of China,” Tsai answered, adding that since she is not a Chinese citizen, it would be impossible for her to own a Chinese passport or a Chinese ID.
She added that she told the staff member that what they were asking her to produce does not exist and that it was a form of discrimination.
Tsai said the person reiterated that she could go in if she could show them a Chinese passport, but could not enter without one.
Tsai said that she eventually left the UN headquarters, feeling angry and humiliated.
According to the ministry, Tsai was not the only person who had been denied a tour around the UN headquarters. A Taiwanese man encountered the same problem when he wanted to enter the building using his ROC passport.
Michael Hsu (徐佩勇), director-general of the ministry’s Department of International Organizations, said the government cannot accept how the UN handled the situation, adding that the ministry had asked the Geneva office of the Cultural and Economic Delegation of Taipei to negotiate with the staff of the UN.
Hsu said the UN has not been consistent in the way it handled the situation, sometimes allowing Taiwanese to enter the building if they present two photo IDs, but denying them entry at other times even if they followed the requirement.
Hsu said it is a long-term issue and is a problem that had occurred not only under the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) government, but also during the Democratic Progressive Party administration.
He said the government would continue to negotiate with the UN over the issue as long as Taiwanese tourists report such discriminatory practices.
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