Participants at a rally on Sunday in Geneva, Switzerland, supporting Taiwan’s presence in the World Health Assembly (WHA) were told by staff associated with the WHA to remove or cover up T-shirts featuring the word “Taiwan,” an attendee said.
The rally was organized by several groups, including the Walking for Taiwan Association in Europe and Ananasli Kulturverein, a cultural group promoting Taiwanese culture to German speakers.
The incident occurred as more than 100 participants, including Taiwanese living overseas and supporters of Taiwan, were gathered near the Place des Nations’ Broken Chair sculpture across the street from the UN complex, where the WHA was being held.
Photo: CNA
Before the march began, WHA staff called out to participants gathered at the site, rally participant Dan Chuang (莊丹琪) told the Central News Agency.
Chuang said she later realized the officials were asking participants to cover up the word “Taiwan” on their T-shirts or take the shirts off altogether.
Chuang in a Facebook post said that rally organizers had completed the required application procedures and people at the Place des Nations were carrying a large banner reading: “Who Cares, Taiwan Cares.”
However, Chuang said that officials asked participants not to display the word “Taiwan” on their T-shirts and even handed out replacement T-shirts.
The officials said they could wear shirts bearing the word “Taiwan” if they moved to another gathering point, she said.
To avoid escalating the situation, rally participants complied and wore the T-shirts openly again after leaving the area, she added.
Chuang said that her daughter asked her: “Why do we need to cover up Taiwan?”
“We were humiliated and silenced,” she said. “We just went through what older Taiwanese, and our athletes and artists have long faced on the international stage.”
Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA — the decisionmaking body of the WHO — since 2016, when it last attended as an observer.
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