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A high school in Colorado, United States, was allegedly blocked from participating in a United Nations committee unless the right language deemed for Taiwan was used.

Taiwan mentioned in obscure, year-old article

According to a Wall Street Journal (WSJ) report, when Regis Jesuit High School, a small private Catholic high school with a student population of just 1,650, applied to attend the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women, they were rejected due to their mention of Taiwan.

The UN committee was referring to a mention of Taiwan that had appeared on a year-old press release, which the high school's website carried a link to.

The offending sentence was as follows, "These young leaders represent 11 U.S. states, eight countries -- Australia, Brazil, Colombia, India, Mexico, Taiwan, Zambia, the United States -- and the British Virgin Islands."

When the high school's application was rejected in May, the committee had suggested changing Taiwan's mention to "Taiwan, Province of China".

Christina Vela, the Spanish teacher in charge of the application, found the request odd but relented nonetheless.

"We are small potatoes," Vela said, adding that "no one was ever going to randomly stumble upon that webpage".

In early September, the school's application was finally accepted.

"Bullish" about change in terminology regarding Taiwan

The WSJ report pointed out that during the UN committee's summer session that ended last Friday, Sep. 10, China had stalled applications from at least six other groups, citing improper use of Taiwan terminology.

Eleanor Openshaw, the programme director for a nonprofit, the International Service for Human Rights, claimed that China was "bullish" about the desired amendments, and that "they will not sleep until an NGO makes a change that they seek".

China sits on the UN committee on non-governmental organisations, which controls who is allowed to take part in UN events.

According to WSJ, Chinese officials had scrutinised every small bit of the groups' websites for references to Taiwan, requesting the changes to be made should the applicants not use Beijing's preferred terminology.

Taiwan a sensitive core issue for China

Beijing views Taiwan as part of the Chinese territory, and regards Taiwan as a sensitive core issue that it is non-negotiable.

Countries, corporations, and individuals have exercised caution with regards to any reference to Taiwan that might imply that it's separate from China, given the resulting massive backlash that almost always happens whenever such Chinese sensitivities have been offended.

Most recently, China's foreign ministry has warned the U.S. against recognising a change of the name of Taipei's representative office in Washington to include the word "Taiwan".

The warning follows a Financial Times report that the Biden administration is "seriously considering" the renaming at the request of Taiwanese authorities.

The news broke a day after the U.S. president called Chinese President Xi Jinping to ensure that "competition does not veer into conflict".

Citing the "one China principle", Chinese foreign ministry's spokesperson Zhao Lijian said at a regular press conference on Monday, Sep. 13, that China has "lodged a solemn representation with the U.S. side" over the matter.

Zhu Fenglian, spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, added that China firmly opposes "any form of official ties or establishment of official institutions between the Taiwan region and countries that have diplomatic relations with China", China Daily reported.

China diplomatically isolating Taiwan

Since Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen took office in 2016, and refused to recognise the "1992 Consensus" -- simply acknowledging the historical fact of the 1992 cross-strait talks -- Beijing has ramped up its pressure internationally.

Seven states switched allegiance to Beijing from Taiwan since Tsai became president, as compared to just one during former president Ma Ying-jeou's eight-year presidency.

And the number of Taiwan's diplomatic allies -- 15 as of September 2021 -- is set to drop even further as the trend of small countries in the Pacific, Caribbean and Central America switching diplomatic recognition from Taipei to Beijing continues.

Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen has remained defiant nonetheless, saying that "the Taiwanese people will not abandon their determination in the face of China's thuggish oppression".

She added, "If we give up now, Taiwan's future generations will lose their sovereignty, their freedom, and their democracy; we will lose everything."

Taiwan kicked out of UN

Although the Republic of China (ROC) was one of the four founding members of the UN since 1945 and a permanent member of the UN Security Council, it was expelled from the UN in 1971 when the government of the PRC was recognised as the only legitimate representative of China to the UN.

The move was supported by then-President Richard Nixon, who wished to improve relations with China to resolve the Vietnam War and counter the influence of the Soviet Union.

Since the ROC lost its seat, it was subsequently isolated from the international system, and blocked from participating in global events, such as the World Health Organization's annual assembly.

The UN currently views the PRC in Beijing as having the right to speak for the island, despite the PRC never controlling the island before.

Taiwan's view

Taiwan has disputed Beijing's authority over itself, with its Foreign Minister Joseph Wu rejecting China's citing of the 1971 UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 as legal basis for Taiwan's exclusion.

He further argued that the language of the resolution simply addressed China's representation in the UN, and does not authorise the PRC to represent Taiwan in the UN.

Taiwan has also protested against the alleged discrimination by the UN against Taiwanese nationals, who have complained of being barred from entering the compounds of the UN headquarters in New York.

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York Director James Lee said that when Taiwan was a member of the UN Security Council, it "never blocked mainland Chinese passport holders from entering the UN premises", Taipei Times reported.

Top image adapted via DENIS BALIBOUSE/AFP/Getty Images & Katherine Darcy/Google Maps

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