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.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
STATS: Taiwan’s average life expectancy of 80.77 years was lower than that of Japan, Singapore and South Korea, but higher than in China, Malaysia and Indonesia Taiwan’s average life expectancy last year increased to 80.77 years, but was still not back to its pre-COVID-19 pandemic peak of 81.32 years in 2020, the Ministry of the Interior said yesterday. The average life expectancy last year increased the 0.54 years from 2023, the ministry said in a statement. For men and women, the average life expectancy last year was 77.42 years and 84.30 years respectively, up 0.48 years and 0.56 years from the previous year. Taiwan’s average life expectancy peaked at 81.32 years in 2020, as the nation was relatively unaffected by the pandemic that year. The metric
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
A magnitude 5.1 earthquake struck Chiayi County at 4:37pm today, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The hypocenter was 36.3km southeast of Chiayi County Hall at a depth of 10.4km, CWA data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage resulting from the quake. The intensity of the quake, which gauges the actual effect of a seismic event, measured 4 in Chiayi County, Tainan and Kaohsiung on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale, the data showed. The quake had an intensity of 3 in Chiayi City and Yunlin County, while it was measured as 2 in Pingtung, Taitung, Hualien, Changhua, Nantou and Penghu counties, the data
RSS