In an April 8 news conference, WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus accused Taiwan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of backing death threats and a racist campaign against him and “the whole black community.”
The ministry refuted the claims immediately, calling Tedros’ accusations “unfounded” and “seriously misleading to the international community.”
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also openly invited Tedros to visit the nation and see the efforts of Taiwanese — the “true victims of unfair treatment” — in combating COVID-19.
US Senator Robert Menendez, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, echoed Tsai’s views that Taiwan should meaningful participate in the World Health Assembly and that Tedros should visit Taiwan.
“Is Taiwan racist?” has become a big question for the nation after Tedros made his accusations.
Undoubtedly, the use of racist verbiage is inappropriate, yet it is rampant on the Internet. However, it is Tedros who needs to present more evidence showing the association between those attacks against him and the Taiwanese government.
The ministry said that as early as Feb. 9 it urged individuals and associations to act rationally when expressing support for Taiwan’s participation in global public health and disease prevention groups.
On April 10, the Investigation Bureau said that Internet users from China were using identical wording to claim they were Taiwanese and apologized for racist attacks against Tedros on behalf of Taiwan.
In a global fight against COVID-19, Taiwan’s achievement in disease control has been widely recognized. Taiwan’s helping hand is color blind.
On March 4, Palauan President Tommy Remengesau thanked Taiwan for assisting in Palau’s disease prevention. On March 18 and April 1, Taiwan announced joint statements with the US and the Czech Republic for coronavirus prevention cooperation.
On April 1, Taiwan announced that it was donating 10 million masks to 15 diplomatic allies, as well as countries hit hardest by the coronavirus, including the US and 11 European states.
On April 9, the ministry announced another round of donations, with 6 million masks to the US, European nations, countries listed in the New Southbound Policy, and nations in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Opposition to Taiwan’s participation in the WHO is only relevant to China, and it does not concern race.
In January, the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced that Taiwan’s participation in the WHO must adhere to the “one China” principle and with a “reasonable arrangement” made through cross-strait negotiations.
In its daily COVID-19 situation reports, the WHO has reported Taiwan as part of China, calling it “Taiwan, China” on Jan. 22, “Taipei Municipality” on Jan. 23 and 24, “Taipei” from Jan. 25 to Feb. 4 and “Taipei and environs” from Feb. 5 to March 15. Since March 16, the WHO has stopped reporting Taiwan’s situation separately when details under the China section are not featured.
In response, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Feb. 6 tweeted that “Taiwan is #Taiwan & not any part of the #PRC.”
In a March 28 interview with Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK, WHO Assistant Director-General Bruce Aylward declined to answer a question about WHO’s inclusion of Taiwan.
Wu later wrote on Twitter: “Wow, can’t even utter ‘Taiwan’ in the WHO? You should set politics aside in dealing with a pandemic.”
In a WHO executive board meeting in February, WHO Assistant Director-General Hiroki Nakatani cut short a speech from the representative of the Kingdom of Eswatini, Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in Africa, who voiced support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO.
The sole reason that Taiwan has only one diplomatic ally in Africa is because of China’s dollar diplomacy rather than Taiwan’s racism against the world’s African communities. In the past decade, the Gambia, Sao Tome and Principe, and Burkina Faso shifted their diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing due to China’s astronomical financial aid to those countries.
Taiwan does not have the mass violence among races or genders often seen in other countries. However, issues of discrimination are still sensitive in Taiwan. Just like every other country in the world, Taiwan is not perfect.
Freedom House’s Freedom in the World report this year gave Taiwan a global freedom score of 93, ranking it the second-freest nation in Asia behind Japan, with a score of 96. The report said that Taiwan’s indigenous people “continue to face social and economic discrimination” and women “face discrimination in employment and compensation.” At the individual level, gender, racial and other forms of discrimination are still visible in daily life in Taiwan.
Despite these deep-rooted issues, Taiwan’s efforts in eliminating discrimination have been fruitful in political and daily life.
Tsai, first elected in 2016 and re-elected in January, is the nation’s first female president and did not ascend to the position through the legacy of a powerful political family.
Minister Without Portfolio Audrey Tang (唐鳳), who coordinates with civilian computer engineers to create the digital infrastructure used to combat COVID-19, is a transgender woman and the youngest appointee ever to the position at the age of 36. Female legislators account for 41.59 percent of Taiwan’s legislature, the highest percentage of female lawmakers in Asia.
Public Television Service broadcasts channels in minority languages including Hoklo (also known as Taiwanese), Hakka and Aboriginal languages.
After centuries of racial injustice, Tsai, with Aboriginal lineage, in 2016 officially apologized to Aborigines. In 2017, Taiwan passed the Aboriginal Language Development Act (原住民族語言發展法) stipulating the status of Aboriginal languages.
Last year, Taiwan became the first nation in Asia to legalize same-sex marriage.
The World Values Survey of 2010 to 2014 shows that respondents in Taiwan reported relatively few instances of racist behavior. Last year’s Expat Insider survey by InterNations ranked Taiwan as the best place for expatriates to live.
Tedros’ accusations against Taiwan give the nation an opportunity to show the world that it can share so much, including its disease control model and its stories of eradicating discrimination.
Taiwan is still struggling with China’s systematic discrimination against its international participation. Taiwan is also undergoing the painful process of establishing a society more friendly to various kinds of people, such as those of different ethnic backgrounds and sexual orientations.
Taiwan is not perfect, but its efforts and achievement in social equality deserve the recognition of the world.
Yang Kuang-shun is cofounder of US-Taiwan Watch.
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