Taipei: Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has condemned the United Nations for barring a Taiwanese national from attending one of its events, stating that the move "seriously violates basic human rights."

According to Focus Taiwan, MOFA highlighted that the U.N. has consistently refused entry to individuals holding Republic of China (Taiwan) passports to its meetings, a practice that infringes upon the rights of Taiwanese citizens to engage in international affairs. The ministry's statement followed a social media post by Vivi Lin, a Taiwanese activist for period equity and gender equality, who shared her experience of being denied participation at the World Summit for Social Development in Qatar, scheduled for November 4-6.

Lin revealed that during her online application process for the summit, she received an email from the U.N. Secretariat requesting her to "change her nationality." Despite her protest against this request, her application was canceled without any formal explanation. Lin, who founded the non-governmental organization With Red to tackle menstruation stigma and gender equality issues, criticized the U.N.'s request as a "mission impossible."

MOFA has been collaborating with allied and like-minded countries to urge the U.N. to "correct the situation," but has not received a positive response from the Secretariat. The ministry emphasized its commitment to pursuing the issue, urging the U.N. to withstand China's coercive pressures and uphold the principles of equal rights for all humanity as stated in the U.N. Charter. MOFA called for an immediate rectification of the discriminatory treatment faced by Republic of China nationals.