As the 73rd annual United Nations General Assembly opened on 18 September, Reporters Without Borders (RSF) called on the UN to authorise Taiwanese journalists to cover its events. RSF specifically urged the UN to allow Taiwan’s press to report on the General Assembly itself as well as the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva next spring. “Accrediting Taiwanese journalists is not a political move, and it avoids unacceptable discrimination that contradicts all’s fundamental right to free information,” said RSF Secretary-General Christophe Deloire in an official statement. The Secretary-General also stressed that preventing Taiwanese journalists from covering UN events goes against Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The statement concluded by calling on the UN “to accredit journalists of good faith, regardless of their nationality or the place of origin of their media.”
The NGO also pointed out that over the past years, “China has been lobbying in every possible way to isolate Taiwan on the international stage, including journalists from doing their job.” RSF cited two other instances in which Taiwanese journalists were denied accreditation due to Chinese pressure, including the WHA earlier this May as well as the 2016 triannual Assembly hosted by the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). The nation’s journalists, previously able to cover WHA events, have been barred access since 2017.