The activist group Keep Taiwan Free has led a demonstration in New York City to gather support and attention for Taiwan's bid to join the UN. Keep Taiwan Free gathered in Times Square on Saturday afternoon to distribute promotional material and arrange photo-ops with their mascot, a cartoon-like Taiwanese bear.
New York's Taiwanese community has rallied for Taiwan's acceptance into the UN for over 20 years. Last year, however, their annual September protest was canceled due to COVID-19. Although the pandemic is mostly under control in New York City, the risk of the Delta variant still has many people avoiding large crowds.
Last year, during the UN General Assembly, Keep Taiwan Free rented out billboards and distributed Taiwanese black bear toys and face masks to American politicians.
More recently, the organization has rented signs on trucks showing images of paper lanterns and other symbols of Taiwan, and sent them out around Manhattan. The trucks also carried the message "The future we want, the UN we need, must include Taiwan!".
At this year's 76th UN General Assembly, with 15 of Taiwan's allies in attendance, 13 countries voiced their support for Taiwan's bid to join the UN. That was the strongest backing Taiwan has received from UN member states in the past four years.