Overseas Taiwanese held a parade on Saturday in New York City to call for Taiwan’s inclusion in the UN as the 78th session of the UN General Assembly gets under way.
About 300 Taiwanese people walked from the Consulate General of the People’s Republic of China in midtown Manhattan to the New York Public Library.
While walking in the city, the participants held flags and banners with slogans and chanted “Keep Taiwan Free” and “UN for Taiwan.”
Photo: CNA
They boarded a cruise ship, which had a banner hanging that said “UN Membership for Taiwan Now! Keep Taiwan Free,” and passed through the East River and near the Statue of Liberty.
The ship sailed past the UN Headquarters toward the end of the trip.
Hsu Puo-chen (許伯丞), the event organizer, said that this was the first time the parade was followed by a cruise trip, with the hope that more people in New York could learn about Taiwan’s exclusion from the UN and support the nation’s bid to join.
Photo: CNA
The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York expressed Taiwan’s desire to meaningfully participate in the UN by having an animated short film broadcast in Times Square, which has been done for many years.
The short film featured a pink-orange background and imagery of Taiwan’s mountains and seas. Taiwan blue magpies were shown flying towards the UN, symbolizing Taiwanese people’s desire to join hands with the world to safeguard peace.
The office also tried a new method to promote Taiwan’s bid this year: having a food truck.
The truck had the slogan “Global Peace with Taiwan” printed on it and it offered winter melon tea, guava juice and bubble milk tea popsicles to New Yorkers along with interactive games.
“The world is safe when Taiwan is safe, the world is peaceful when the Taiwan Strait is peaceful — these are the consensus of the international society,” office director James Lee (李光章) said.
The purpose of the UN is to maintain peace and security globally, which includes taking effective actions to safeguard peace and eliminate threats, he said.
Legislators Tsai Shih-ying (蔡適應), Chen Ting-fei (陳亭妃), Chen Ming-wen (陳明文), Chen Ou-po (陳歐珀), Chang Hung-lu (張宏陸), Lai Hsiang-ling (賴香伶) and Chen Jiau-hua (陳椒華) joined the parade and volunteered at the food truck.
“There are food trucks everywhere in New York. It is very important to promote Taiwan in a way that is close to the local culture and let everyone know more about Taiwan and where it is,” Chen Ting-fei said.
The group of legislators went to New York “to get the world hear Taiwan’s desire to join the UN and participate in all its organizations,” Chang said.
Belizean Ambassador to the UN Carlos Fuller and Palauan Representative to the UN Ilana Seid took part in the food truck launching event and voiced support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the UN and its contribution to the organization’s Sustainable Development Goals.
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