“As we embark on this great collective journey, we pledge that no one will be left behind”.
– Transforming Our World: the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
The Sun Daily
Date: 24 September 2017
By: David Tawei Lee
NEW YORK is one of the world’s most popular tourist destinations. As with visitors from other countries, those from Taiwan love to experience first-hand the city’s famous attractions – the Statue of Liberty, Times Square and, of course, the nerve centre of global affairs: the United Nations headquarters. These landmarks – the latter in particular – are symbols of equality, diversity and freedom. Regrettably, the brilliant lustre of these ideals has become tarnished of late as more and more visitors from Taiwan find themselves being turned away from the UN grounds, discriminated against simply because of their country of origin.
The UN is about people, yet the universality of human rights that it proclaims does not extend to Taiwan and its 23 million people. This mistreatment dates back to 1971, when our government lost its representation in the organisation – and in the intervening decades, Taiwan has met with challenges and isolation with respect to its international situation. Nevertheless, this adversity has propelled us forward and we have never retreated, for we believe very strongly that those who follow the path of virtue can never truly be alone. [FULL STORY]