The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it is working hard to persuade the UN Office in Geneva to issue press passes to Taiwanese journalists to cover the 58th World Health Assembly (WHA), which is scheduled to take place in Geneva from May 16 to May 25.
In a statement, the ministry "strongly protested" the Geneva office's rule that only journalists holding passports from states recognized by the UN General Assembly will get media accreditation for the WHA.
Taiwan will lodge its 9th application for observer status in the WHA next Monday. The WHA meets annually and is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
UN officials in Geneva, however, rejected Taiwanese reporters' applications for press badges to cover the event and told them they could not get media accreditation because they are not from a state recognized by the UN General Assembly.
"It is the belief of the ministry that the UN should respect the universal value of press freedom. The UN should protect journalists' rights and should not fail to do so because of political pressure," the ministry statement said.
Criticizing China as the "mastermind" behind the UN Geneva office's refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists, the ministry said this situation revealed that China has not been sincere when repeating its "goodwill" toward the Taiwanese people in recent days.
"It is simply pursuing a two-faced strategy on Taiwan," the ministry said.
Ministry spokesman Michel Lu (
The ministry said that since the Geneva office refused to issue press passes to Taiwanese journalists during last year's WHA, it instructed the country's representative offices in New York, where UN headquarters are located, and in Geneva to try to negotiate with UN information officials on the issue prior to this year's WHA.
"But the UN still succumbs to political pressure and sacrifices press freedom, which it has been actively advocating, in order to seek compromise in international politics.
The ministry is very disappointed and finds the matter deeply regrettable," the statement said.
MOFA stressed that the UN has no right to express its opinions on Taiwan's national status.
"Currently, there are 25 UN member states or observers that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan. This is an undeniable fact and the UN should respect this," the ministry said.
MOFA said it is unheard of for the UN to block journalists from covering UN-related events because they hold passports issued by states that are not members of the UN.
It pointed out that Swiss reporters did not have any problems getting media accreditation covering UN events before Switzerland joined the UN as a member.
UN information officials once told Taiwanese diplomats in private that they have "other considerations" in handling media accreditation for Taiwanese journalists in the WHA, the ministry said.
"China not only oppresses press freedom in its own land but also stretches its hand into the UN, depriving Taiwanese journalists of their rights. Voices from all sides should criticize such behavior," the ministry said in the statement.
The ministry said it is soliciting support from international journalists' associations for Taiwanese reporters.
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
TRAGEDY STRIKES TAIPEI: The suspect died after falling off a building after he threw smoke grenades into Taipei Main Station and went on a killing spree in Zhongshan A 27-year-old suspect allegedly threw smoke grenades in Taipei Main Station and then proceeded to Zhongshan MRT Station in a random killing spree that resulted in the death of the suspect and two other civilians, and seven injured, including one in critical condition, as of press time last night. The suspect, identified as a man surnamed Chang Wen (張文), allegedly began the attack at Taipei Main Station, the Taipei Fire Department said, adding that it received a report at 5:24pm that smoke grenades had been thrown in the station. One man in his 50s was rushed to hospital after a cardiac arrest
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
ON ALERT: Taiwan’s partners would issue warnings if China attempted to use Interpol to target Taiwanese, and the global body has mechanisms to prevent it, an official said China has stationed two to four people specializing in Taiwan affairs at its embassies in several democratic countries to monitor and harass Taiwanese, actions that the host nations would not tolerate, National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) said yesterday. Tsai made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee, which asked him and Minister of National Defense Wellington Koo (顧立雄) to report on potential conflicts in the Taiwan Strait and military preparedness. Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Michelle Lin (林楚茵) expressed concern that Beijing has posted personnel from China’s Taiwan Affairs Office to its
RSS