The president of Palau’s small Pacific island nation has called on Taiwan to allow Taiwanese citizens to participate in efforts to protect the world’s oceans after being blocked from participating in UN events in Portugal.
The event focused on the sustainable use of the ocean and marine resources, which is an important concern for Pacific island nations.
President Slanger Whips, Jr., said on the first day of the United Nations Maritime Conference, which took place from June 27 to July 1, “All humanity, including 23 million in Taiwan, needs to be part of the solution. “.
The president’s comment is Media release Announced by the United Nations on 27 June, it was followed by more critical comments due to representatives at the closing ceremony of the conference. Reuters..
“The United Nations has excluded 23 million people from Taiwan from the conversation,” said an unnamed representative. “They weren’t given badges and weren’t allowed to be part of our delegation just because they had a Taiwanese passport.
“We see this as a violation of our sovereignty … the issue of the sea is a global issue and we want all of us to cooperate without discrimination.”
Chinese pressure
China claimed Taiwan as part of its territory and prevented the autonomous islands from joining an international organization of sovereign states, including the United Nations.
The US delegation said that Palau should be allowed to include Taiwanese people in the list of delegations, as each member state has the right to decide the composition of the delegation of the conference. ..
“The credential committee should not have pressured them to remove these individuals from the delegation,” Reuters said.
Palau’s comment was withdrawn from the Maritime Conference on June 27 after Tuvalu’s Foreign Minister Simon Kofe demanded that China, a member of the UN Qualification Commission, dismiss three Taiwanese representatives from Tuvalu’s delegation. Sometimes made.
In response to this incident, Beijing’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian “brings shame” to himself only if the Taiwanese delegation continues to join foreign delegations to attend international conferences. Said.
“Some countries have ignored one China principle and one of the world’s top priorities. It made it easier for Taiwanese officials to attend the conference and deliberately hyped the issue,” he said. I told the group.
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi embarked on an eight-country tour in May to strengthen its alliance with Pacific leaders who have a friendly relationship with Beijing.
Tuvalu, Naul, Palau and the Marshall Islands are the only Pacific countries that maintain diplomatic relations with Taiwan and recognize Taiwan as a sovereign state.
Daniel Y. Teng contributed to this report.
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Aldgra Fredly is a Malaysia-based freelance writer featuring the Epoch Times Asia Pacific News.