Vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu blamed the Taiwan foreign ministry for her being denied entry to official events at this year’s United Nations (UN) climate conference (COP28).
On Dec. 14, the candidate from the opposition Taiwan People's Party (TPP) also criticised the foreign ministry as “ineffective”, and called it a “ministry of broken relations”, according to Taiwan News.
Why was Taiwan at COP28?
The self-ruled island is not recognised as a sovereign state by most international organisations like the UN.
It is not a UN member, which means that it cannot officially participate in COP events.
However, Taiwan has been participating in the annual conference as a "non-governmental organisation observer" under the island’s Industrial Technology Research Institute since 1995, Taipei Times and Focus Taiwan reported.
This year, however, UN officials reportedly denied entry to Wu, a member of Taiwan's legislature, and her delegation to COP28 events in Dubai.
COP28 was held from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12. The annual conference aims to be a platform for governments to discuss on policies to limit global warming and adapt to impacts caused by climate change.
'Ministry of broken relations': Wu
Upon her return from the Middle East, Wu shared her COP28 experience with the Legislative Yuan (an equivalent to Singapore's parliament) on Dec. 14, according to Taiwan News.
She uploaded a snippet of the "COP28 special report" session in a Facebook post on the same day.
However, she claimed that when she and her delegation tried to enter the events, UN officials told her she was not supposed to be there.
According to Taiwan News, the officials denied her entry to the events because Wu supposedly broke their “mutual trust” when she publicised her attendance at the event.
According to Wu, the officials also told her to only share videos showing distinct COP28 landmarks when she's returning to Taiwan.
Instead, Wu uploaded a post onto Facebook on Dec. 8 which highlighted her presence in Dubai and mentioned her attendance at a COP28 conference, as well as a nearby conference in Abu Dhabi.
As a result of being denied entry into the events, Wu accused Taiwan’s foreign ministry of being at fault.
She also criticised the ministry of being “ineffective”, and called it the “ministry of broken relations”.
Taipei Times said that Wu may have been referring to Taiwan’s loss of nine diplomatic allies to China since 2016, after the Democratic Progressive Party’s (DPP) Tsai Ing-wen was elected president.
Foreign affairs ministry had warned Wu of 'suppression' risks
In response to Wu’s criticism, Taiwan’s foreign affairs ministry claimed in a press release on Dec. 14 that it had warned Wu of the possible risks before her trip.
The ministry wrote that it advised participants to keep a "low profile" during a pre-trip meeting, bearing in mind that the Taiwan elections would take place shortly after COP28.
It added that it warned Wu about the possibility of being barred from the proceedings, given her status as a vice presidential candidate.
The ministry then cited Wu's supposed "high-profile" press conference before the trip on Dec. 4, and said that her own actions led to the outcome on COP28.
The ministry also claimed, without giving evidence, that Wu’s publicity attempt might have caused China to “pressure” UN officials to deny her entry to the events.
A ping-pong match?
The following day on Dec. 15, Wu’s office responded with a statement.
It claimed that Wu did not hold a "press conference" on Dec. 4, but had accepted interviews with the media.
On Dec. 16, the ministry issued another press release in response. They claimed that the "sole reason" behind any possible suppression risks at COP28 is Wu's identity as a vice presidential candidate in the coming elections.
While the ministry had informed her of these risks, Wu supposedly insisted on going.
Out of "respect for her as a legislator", the ministry added that they could not ask her to cancel the trip, advised her to manage any potential risks should she still decide to attend COP28.
The foreign affairs ministry again hit back at Wu, claiming that her insistence on attending COP28 while standing for elections supposedly gave China the opportunity to "suppress Taiwan", and this could jeopardise future opportunities for the island on such events.
"Her actions damaged the country's dignity instead," the statement wrote.
Upcoming election
Wu's running mate Ko Wen-je will be contesting in the 2024 Taiwan presidential election, together with the ruling DPP William Lai and Kuomintang’s Hou Yu-ih.
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Top image from 吳欣盈/Facebook.