[governance] Taiwanese nationals and the IGF

[Michael J. Oghia" (via governance Mailing List]

Hi everyone,

I'd like to raise a serious concern I have regarding the IGF. A contact of
mine in Taiwan is having trouble registering for the IGF. She solely has a
Taiwanese passport, but the IGF, as a UN event, can only register
individuals who have a passport from a UN member state (of which Taiwan is
not a member). I checked with the IGF Secretariat, and unfortunately,
there's not much they can do about it.

I know that the politics surrounding China and Taiwan are contentious,
however, this essentially means that she (and anyone else) from Taiwan –
more than 23.5 million people – are essentially barred from attending the
IGF if they don't have another passport.

I find this *deeply problematic* and in violation of the fundamental
principles of the multi-stakeholder model, namely the fact that it's meant
to be inclusive and open to all.

Has anyone encountered this problem in the past, either in the IG sector or
another development sector? Does anyone have ideas for how it can be
resolved? I'm well aware this is not the first instance of a Taiwanese
national being excluded from participation in a global event, so perhaps
this is a moot point and no one can help. Still, it still strikes me as
incredibly unjust and unfair that regional politics would prevent
individuals from attending the IGF.

Best,
-Michael
__________________

Michael J. Oghia | Advocacy & Engagement Manager
Global Forum for Media Development (GFMD <https://gfmd.info>)
Belgrade, Serbia | Twitter <https://www.twitter.com/MikeOghia> | LinkedIn
<https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikeoghia>
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