The nation’s diplomatic isolation was spotlighted in the legislature yesterday, as lawmakers voiced concern over a Taiwanese woman being denied entry to a UN-affiliated convention last week because she presented a Republic of China (ROC) passport.
Lawmakers grilled Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) about the ministry’s response.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Department of Women’s Development director Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) had been invited to attend a conference held by the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
However, she said that when she presented her passport for identification, a commission staff member told her: “Taiwan passport holders cannot enter. It is policy.”
Legislators across party lines raised concerns about the nation’s foreign relations, citing the government’s failed attempts to regain a seat in the UN and China’s efforts to diplomatically isolate Taiwan, including instances where the official names of Taiwanese non-governmental organizations have been rewritten to include the word “China.”
DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-liang (蔡煌瑯) said that Lin Ching-yi had not been invited to the conference as an official delegate, but the commission denied her entry anyway.
He called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to boost its efforts to raise Taiwan’s international profile and gain diplomatic recognition from more countries.
People First Party Legislator Thomas Lee (李桐豪) asked why Lin Ching-yi was refused entry, saying that Control Yuan President Chang Po-ya (張博雅) was able to attend a UN conference using his ROC passport, although that happened a long time ago.
David Lin told lawmakers that China has used its influence in the UN to bar Taiwanese from participating in UN affairs for the past nine years, adding that Taiwanese have to present both their passport and national health insurance card to be accepted to a non-governmental organization convention.
Such bans have become more common after China gained more important positions at the UN and its people changed the rules, the minister said.
The ministry had lodged complaints against China’s actions via the US and Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, as it is “utterly unreasonable” to boycott Taiwanese participation in the activities of UN-affiliated non-governmental organizations, the minister said.
He called on Chinese authorities to stop doing things that “hurt the feelings of Taiwanese.”
Lin Ching-yi said that when she was preparing her application for a commission meeting four years ago, she was told that Taiwanese could not attend the meetings even if they had made outstanding achievements in gender issues.
An international non-governmental organization helped her file an application and secure an invitation for this year’s event, but she was still refused entry, she said.
It was ironic that she was discriminated against simply because of her nationality by an organization that promotes the elimination of gender inequality, she said.
WANG RELEASED: A police investigation showed that an organized crime group allegedly taught their clients how to pretend to be sick during medical exams Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) and 11 others were released on bail yesterday, after being questioned for allegedly dodging compulsory military service or forging documents to help others avoid serving. Wang, 33, was catapulted into stardom for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代). Lately, he has been focusing on developing his entertainment career in China. The New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office last month began investigating an organized crime group that is allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified documents. Police in New Taipei City Yonghe Precinct at the end of last month arrested the main suspect,
Eleven people, including actor Darren Wang (王大陸), were taken into custody today for questioning regarding the evasion of compulsory military service and document forgery, the New Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said. Eight of the people, including Wang, are suspected of evading military service, while three are suspected of forging medical documents to assist them, the report said. They are all being questioned by police and would later be transferred to the prosecutors’ office for further investigation. Three men surnamed Lee (李), Chang (張) and Lin (林) are suspected of improperly assisting conscripts in changing their military classification from “stand-by
LITTORAL REGIMENTS: The US Marine Corps is transitioning to an ‘island hopping’ strategy to counterattack Beijing’s area denial strategy The US Marine Corps (USMC) has introduced new anti-drone systems to bolster air defense in the Pacific island chain amid growing Chinese military influence in the region, The Telegraph reported on Sunday. The new Marine Air Defense Integrated System (MADIS) Mk 1 is being developed to counter “the growing menace of unmanned aerial systems,” it cited the Marine Corps as saying. China has constructed a powerful defense mechanism in the Pacific Ocean west of the first island chain by deploying weapons such as rockets, submarines and anti-ship missiles — which is part of its anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) strategy against adversaries — the
Former Taiwan People’s Party chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) may apply to visit home following the death of his father this morning, the Taipei Detention Center said. Ko’s father, Ko Cheng-fa (柯承發), passed away at 8:40am today at the Hsinchu branch of National Taiwan University Hospital. He was 94 years old. The center said Ko Wen-je was welcome to apply, but declined to say whether it had already received an application. The center also provides psychological counseling to people in detention as needed, it added, also declining to comment on Ko Wen-je’s mental state. Ko Wen-je is being held in detention as he awaits trial
RSS