The New York City government has approved a permit for a rally before the UN General Assembly, the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA) said yesterday.
“The annual parade in New York, in the days prior to the General Assembly, is organized by Taiwanese communities in the US and Canada, with our organization leading the delegates from Taiwan,” TAIUNA chairman Michael Tsai (蔡明憲) told a news conference in Taipei.
“This year will have greater mobilization, as we have invited exiled Tibetan groups and Uighurs from East Turkestan, and representatives from the Hong Kong pro-democracy movement,” Tsai said.
Photo courtesy of TAIUNA
“This year will be different from the previous ones, as we have received a parade permit for the ‘Taiwan for UN’ rally to finish in front of the Chinese consulate general in New York City. It is for the groups to protest China’s oppression and atrocities against their people, and for TAIUNA to protest China’s bullying and obstruction, and denying Taiwan’s participation in the UN,” he added.
Tsai called on President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) to show her support by convening an international news conference and to voice Taiwanese’s demand to join the UN.
He also called on all presidential candidates to make a public declaration supporting Taiwan’s UN bid.
The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus attended the news conference, along with New Power Party Chairman Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明), former Taiwan Solidarity Union legislator Chou Ni-an (周倪安), and attorney Jerry Cheng (鄭文龍), one of the leaders of the judicial reform movement.
DPP Legislator Yeh Yi-jin (葉宜津) said she has supported Taiwan’s UN bid for many years, adding that she would sign up with TAIUNA to travel to New York.
“We must let the world know that Taiwan is a unique nation among all the regions where Chinese live in Asia. Only in Taiwan do we have democratic society, free elections, freedom and liberties, and respect for human rights. Therefore, it is a gross injustice to exclude Taiwan from the UN due to political pressure and threats from China,” she said.
DPP Legislator Karen Yu (余宛如) said that one of TAIUNA’s slogans is “Taiwan Can Help” in reference to contributions of young Taiwanese and civil society groups around the world, adding that they work in connection with projects run by UN agencies.
“Taiwan has contributed so much around the world through the efforts of its young people and non-governmental organizations; they are involved in local community programs, and projects for clean water, environmental protection, agriculture techniques and many others. Why leave Taiwan out of the UN when we can help and contribute to the world?” she said.
“Besides, we can share our experience of developing a democratic society,” she added.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
President William Lai (賴清德) has appointed former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) to attend the late Pope Francis’ funeral at the Vatican City on Saturday on his behalf, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said today. The Holy See announced Francis’ funeral would take place on Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square. The ministry expressed condolences over Francis’ passing and said that Chen would represent Taiwan at the funeral and offer condolences in person. Taiwan and the Vatican have a long-standing and close diplomatic relationship, the ministry said. Both sides agreed to have Chen represent Taiwan at the funeral, given his Catholic identity and
RSS