[governance] Taiwanese nationals and the IGF

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

Hi Ian,

Thanks so much for this thoughtful response, and indeed, I sent it in
frustration. I realise, however, that this issue goes way beyond the IGF.
Moreover, since a member of the Chinese government is a member of the MAG,
I seriously doubt the MAG would even be open to discussing it.

The point you raise about stateless individuals is an interesting one,
though, as I don't know what the protocol is for that. Taiwan nationals
clearly aren't stateless, though, so those are two separate points
(regardless, I still recommend the IGF develop a procedure for including
stateless individuals/groups).

It seems this is an injustice that will have to pursue, and she can attend
remotely if interested.

Best,
-Michael


On Fri, Sep 6, 2019 at 10:46 AM ian.peter at ianpeter.com <
ian.peter at ianpeter.com> wrote:

> 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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