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.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS