Global climate group lets Taiwan keep Chinese-Taipei name, a win over China’s demands
- Six Taiwanese municipalities may keep their chosen national identity after protest to Global Covenant of Mayors for Climate and Energy
- Taiwan compromised to accept the Chinese-Taipei title in some international groups but some smaller bodies tried to classify it as China or province of China
Instead of being identified as part of China, the six Taiwanese municipalities that joined the international group may keep their Chinese-Taipei title, preventing them from being mistaken for cities under mainland China’s jurisdiction.
The controversy stemmed from long-time pressure from Beijing which has demanded that international groups and companies refer to Taiwan as being part of China, according to the island’s foreign ministry.
“We are happy to learn that they have changed our name back to the original title,” Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said before a legislature meeting on Monday.
He said his office had been in contact with the Global Covenant of Mayors (GCoM) over the name change issue and after learning of the latest decision by the international group, it also informed the six Taiwanese cities of the decision.