China protests inclusion calls for Taiwan at UN climate talks

China lodged a protest on Saturday following discussions at the UN climate talks in Dubai that advocated for the inclusion of Taiwan. Two of the dwindling number of countries that recognise Taiwan – Guatemala and the tiny Pacific island of Nauru – both hailed support from Taipei in addresses at the COP28 conference. Marco Vinicio Ochoa, a vice minister from Guatemala, specifically acknowledged Taiwan’s contributions to international cooperation on climate change projects, urging their participation in the forum. In response, a representative from Beijing objected, and said, “A handful of countries ignored the fact that Taiwan is an inalienable part of China and made noises about the participation by the Taiwan authorities.” “In fact, the Taiwan region can contribute to the global climate change fight through existing arrangements.” The United Nations booted out Taiwan, formally the Republic of China, in 1971 and Beijing in recent years has stepped up pressure on countries to refuse even a semblance of recognition to Taiwan. Taiwan has nonetheless submitted an action plan to curb climate change to the UN climate body in line with the 2015 accord and in Dubai took out advertisements in public places to highlight its activities. With inputs from AFP