APPENDIX III.

Protest Against the PRC for Taiwan Being Refused
to Attend the 95' UNWCW/NGO Forum

We are a group of women from various active women's organizations in Taiwan and would like to attend the United Nations World Conference on Women and the Non Governmental Organizations Women's Forum.

We respect and identify with the four democratic principles that reflect the spirit and essence of the NGO Forum. These are: the participatory principle, grassroots principle, collective principle and cross-border principle. These principles allow every one to have the opportunity to participate so that no powerful woman or super state should dominate the Forum. It also indicates that women of all countries/territories should work together on equal terms.

We, as the women from Taiwan, are eager to be part of the Forum and strive for the goal that eleven million Taiwanese women should not be ignored by the international community. We also adhere to the guideline that the NGO event is independent from any government control.

According to the NGO Consultation for the Fourth World Conference on Women in March 1994, one resolution was adopted by the Asia/Pacific Caucus that stated: "All interested women and groups, including Tibetans and Taiwanese women, should be allowed to attend the NGO Forum 1995 in Beijing." At that time, the leader of the Chinese delegation Mrs. Qizao Huang was present in the meeting. Yet, on 26 July 1995 Huang stated that "any women from Taiwan who wish to participate in the NGO Forum held at Huai-zou should register to the NGO Forum Committee of the China Organizing Committee." In other words, the intention of China is extremely obvious, China is purposely using this NGO Forum to make Taiwan appear as an integral part of the PRC.

The Secretary-General of the Fourth UNWCW, Gertrude Mongella, when asked whether the women of Tibet and Taiwan would have their voices heard at the conference, said "the question should be answered by the host country."

In fact, since the establishment of the People's Republic of China 1949, the PRC has never had sovereignty over Taiwan for a single day, nor advocated the rights/welfare for Taiwan at any international organization, let alone fulfilled any obligation to our people. We consider that the PRC has no rights to represent Taiwan on any occasion in the international arena. The compromising attitude of the UN/NGO that subordinated to the PRC indeed contaminated the sacredness of the Conference/Forum.

In order not to provoke the Western World, PRC manipulated very sophisticated Chinese bureaucratic tricks to conciliate, obstruct, delay and to reject issuing of visas for Taiwanese women. These tricks deprive our voices of being heard and result in the loss of the opportunity to establish a network with other countries.

Although Taiwan has been left out of the UN for a quarter of a century, women in Taiwan have devoted themselves to the various tasks including consciousness raising, revision of inappropriate laws, care for the victimized women, and promote women's rights in every aspect. As a whole, nowadays through our efforts, the women in Taiwan have gained a higher degree of status than before. If we were to have the opportunity to attend this Conference/Forum, our efforts could be understood, international sisterhood could be built up and the experience-sharing could be possible.

We maintain that the NGO Forum is supposed to be beyond any race, religion, state-border and ideology. Nevertheless, the purposive measures taken to reject Taiwanese women from attending UN/NGO activities by PRC is intolerable. We strongly condemn and protest against PRC.

August 29, 1995

　　　　　　　Women's Work Committee, Presbyterian Church in Taiwan
Grassroots Women Workers' Center
Women's Development and Action Committee, DPP
Garden of Hope Foundation
Rainbow Project
Awakening Foundation
Homemakers Foundation
Taipei Women's Development Center
Taipei Association for the Promotion of Women's Rights
National Organization of Women in Taiwan
Women's Research Program, Population Studies Center,
aipei Women's Rescue Foundation
Women Association For Community Development
ECPAT (End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism)

＊APPENDIX I.
＊APPENDIX II.
＊APPENDIX III.