[governance] Taiwanese nationals and the IGF

[ian.peter at ianpeter.com]

I wish there was an easy answer to this Michael.

But as I understand it, we are dealing with a whole-of-UN problem, not 
just an IGF one. For whatever historic reasons, and they are to do with 
recognition of the Peoples Republic of China, Taiwan is not  recognised 
by the UN as a nation state - although they would like to be and have a 
few allies pushing their cause.

I believe it goes back to 1971. China's attitude has been "The United 
Nations is an international organization composed of sovereign 
states.Taiwan as a province of China is completely not qualified and has 
no right to participate in it. Due to the well-known reasons, the Taiwan 
authorities illegally usurped China's UN seat for as long as 22 years" 
(http://ae.china-embassy.org/eng/zt/twwt/t150866.htm)

But having said that - others might be able to provide more background - 
since IGF is not a meeting of nation states, but also includes civil 
society and other stakeholders, one would think there might  be a way 
around it. Yes, to register one needs a passport - maybe an ally of 
Taiwan would be prepared to issue passports or acceptab;e documents for 
Taiwanese citizens?

I don't know how we could get around this, just brainstorming. In an 
ideal IGF, stateless people would have a voice and be able to attend, 
subject of course to standard security clearances. Maybe MAG could 
explore this?


Ian Peter





------ Original Message ------
From: "Michael J. Oghia" <governance at lists.riseup.net>
To: "IGC" <governance at lists.riseup.net>
Sent: 6/09/2019 5:49:07 PM
Subject: [governance] Taiwanese nationals and the IGF

>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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