The Vienna-based International Press Institute (IPI) accused the UN of violating human rights because of its continued refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists or anyone working for Taiwanese media outlets.
For the past four years, journalists carrying Taiwanese passports or working for Taiwanese media outlets have been barred from covering the annual World Health Assembly (WHA).
The refusal to accredit Taiwanese journalists has been attirbuted to the fact that Taiwan is not a member of the UN.
In a press release issued on Thursday, the IPI said the decision to bar Taiwanese journalists from being accredited to attend any events related to the UN or its subsidiaries, such as the WHO, is a 昼erious violation of press freedom and the principle of universality of human rights.?br />
The IPI is a global network of editors, media executives and leading journalists in over 120 countries. Other international journalist organizations, such as the International Federation of Journalists, have also been vocal about the UN旧 unfair treatment towards Taiwanese journalists.
ARTICLE 19
戦PI regards this decision as a serious violation of press freedom and the principle of universality of human rights,?said the press release, citing Article 19 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights which grants everyone the right to 昼eek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.?br />
背n addition, the IPI quoted Article 2 of the Declaration, which provides that all rights set forth therein apply to everyone and that 嘆o distinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty.?br />
NO JUSTIFICATION
声ccordingly, it remains difficult to understand the justification for the UN旧 discrimination against certain journalists based on the political status of the country to which they belong,?the statement said.
声dministrative obstacles to press freedom and access to information are serious human rights violations,?IPI Director David Dadge said.
巣e urge the UN to revise such policies so they properly reflect the fundamental UN principles of equality and respect for press freedom. If this is not done, there is a very real danger to members of the Taiwanese public, who rely on the media for information about public health matters,?he said.
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
BITTERLY COLD: The inauguration ceremony for US president-elect Donald Trump has been moved indoors due to cold weather, with the new venue lacking capacity A delegation of cross-party lawmakers from Taiwan, led by Legislative Speaker Han Kuo-yu (韓國瑜), for the inauguration of US president-elect Donald Trump, would not be able to attend the ceremony, as it is being moved indoors due to forecasts of intense cold weather in Washington tomorrow. The inauguration ceremony for Trump and US vice president-elect JD Vance is to be held inside the Capitol Rotunda, which has a capacity of about 2,000 people. A person familiar with the issue yesterday said although the outdoor inauguration ceremony has been relocated, Taiwan’s legislative delegation has decided to head off to Washington as scheduled. The delegation
RSS