A Taiwanese teenager described the nation’s exclusion from the WHO as a form of discrimination amid the COVID-19 pandemic in a program by Japanese public broadcaster NHK.
In the one-hour online program Beyond Pandemic: Voices of Youths From Around the World, aired yesterday in Taiwan by the Public Television Service, 16 teenagers from eight countries and territories were invited to record videos of their thoughts and share them on a wide range of topics.
“Taiwan is not a WHO member, so I feel that Taiwan has been ignored and discriminated against,” said Stacy Hua (花湧惠), a 16-year-old student from New Taipei City Municipal Banciao Senior High School.
“All countries must be treated equally and should not be isolated. I hope that we can see no more discrimination,” she said, adding that sickness has no borders.
Hua also discussed how Taiwan, as is the case with several other nations, has had to deal with a barrage of “fake news” and inaccurate information on the Internet in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, citing for example online information that led to people hoarding toilet paper.
Also taking part in the program was Buya Watan, a student from Nan Oau Senior High School in Yilan County, who talked about his daily life as an Aborigine.
Buya, a member of the Atayal community, won the award for best youth television program host at the 55th Golden Bell Awards in September.
Three other teenagers from Brazil, Argentina and the US also spoke about gender inequality and racial discrimination.
The program is a two-part series and features teenagers from Taiwan, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Germany, Japan, Mongolia and the US.
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