China is systematically enlarging its influence by embedding officials in many global organizations to alter their operations, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, urging other nations not to remain taciturn to Beijing’s political plotting.
During the International Council of Nurses’ annual congress in Singapore from Thursday last week to Monday, China tried to downgrade Taiwanese participation, with one Chinese representative even concealing a Taiwanese participant’s nameplate showing the Republic of China (ROC) flag at the event’s closing ceremony.
The ministry condemned the Chinese delegate’s act and expressed discontent and fury, ministry deputy spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) said when asked for comment during a routine news conference in Taipei.
It has contacted the Taiwan Nurses Association to provide help, while the Taipei Representative Office in Singapore also negotiated with the relevant authorities to ensure that Taiwanese could participate in the meeting with dignity, professionalism and equality, Ou said.
The Rome-based UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) late last month elected Chinese Deputy Minister of Agriculture Qu Dongyu (屈冬玉) as its first Chinese director-general.
Other Chinese officials at key global organizations include International Civil Aviation Organization Secretary-General Liu Fang (柳芳), UN Industrial Development Organization Secretary-General Li Yong (李勇), International Telecommunication Union secretary-general Zhao Houlin (趙厚麟), World Bank chief administrative officer Yang Shaolin (楊少林) and UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs Undersecretary-General Liu Zhenmin (劉振民), Ou said.
China is systematically deploying its officers to occupy high-ranking management positions in many important organizations, purporting to alter their policies and operations to serve its own national interests, she said.
Under Liu’s influence, the world body has forbidden Taiwanese from visiting its headquarters — in New York City or Geneva — if they travel on ROC passports, which runs counter to the interests of Taiwan and other nations, she said.
Ou called on Chinese officials to uphold the interests of global organizations, instead of just serving as Beijing’s fists.
Other member states of the organizations should not remain silent in face of China’s discriminatory policies toward Taiwan, or they would be acquiescing to its tactics, she said, calling on other nations to defend the values of their joint organizations.
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