President Ma Ying-jeou is calling on China not to prevent Taiwanese from exercising their rights overseas. Ma was speaking Tuesday during a meeting with a delegation from the Council on Foreign Relations, a New York-based independent think tank.
Ma said that China has made things difficult for Taiwanese interested in visiting the United Nations headquarters. Under the UN’s new security rules, all visitors over 18 must have “government-issued” photo identification to enter the building.
Ma said it’s meaningless for China to stop Taiwanese from getting a visitor permit.
“When Taiwanese citizens visit the United Nations, they are not able to use their passports to exchange for a visitor permit," said Ma.
"This is a small thing, of course, but these people are Taiwan’s middle class. In other words, it’s meaningless for China because the move will anger a lot of Taiwanese. It’s really pointless. If China thinks Taiwan is part of China, then why can’t our people visit the UN? That doesn’t make sense!”
Ma also said Beijing should show goodwill by removing its military deployment targeting Taiwan