WHO staff reportedly ordered activists to take off ‘Team Taiwan’ shirt｜Taiwan News

Bilingual text here: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026519W03EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description 雙語文字版: https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/news/2026519W03EA?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=description Our official website: ➔ https://english.ftvnews.com.tw/ Follow us on Facebook: ➔ https://www.facebook.com/ftvformosanews X (Twitter): ➔ https://x.com/FTV_Taiwan_News Every year that Taiwan has been barred from the World Health Assembly due to pressure from China, activists have held protests with permission from Swiss authorities. But this year, the World Health Organization doubled down against the activists by ordering them to change out of their “Team Taiwan” t-shirts. A French resident from Taiwan tearfully recounted the encounter with WHO staff member, who she said was “really mean” and yelled at them for wearing the “Team Taiwan” shirt. It should be noted that the activists stayed in areas under local Swiss jurisdiction. Flags in hand and chanting slogans, activists are marching the streets of Geneva, Switzerland calling for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly. For the 10th year, Taiwan has not been invited due to pressure from China. Now, it’s been revealed that World Health Organization staff tried to police the protests. Dan Chuang Content Creator, Troyes Bulletin When we were gathering at the square with the “Broken Chair” statue, because we all wore “Team Taiwan” shirts, someone from the WHO wanted us to take off our shirts. Are we not an independent country? Dan Chuang, a French resident from Taiwan, tearfully recounted the encounter with WHO staff. She said that the WHO staff wanted them to change out of their “Team Taiwan—Genève” t-shirts. Dan Chuang Content Creator, Troyes Bulletin This kind of thing really catches you off guard if you’ve never experienced it. The WHO person was actually really mean. He was yelling at us. I didn’t, wouldn’t want to take off my t-shirt. I actually froze. I only became unstuck when my daughter came to me and asked me what happened, and why I was holding a stack of t-shirts. I told her that we had to change into those t-shirts. She asked me why. It was then when I started to realize that I had gotten humiliated. The incident took place at the Place des Nations, which is administered by local authorities of Geneva. This is evident, seeing that a placard for Taiwan’s government-organized healthtech expo was placed there. The WHO staff may have overreached into Swiss jurisdiction in attempting to police what the activists wore. Lee Kuen-cheng Legislator (DPP) You could get oppressed by China even in such a democratic place as Geneva. This goes to show that China’s oppression could take place anytime, anywhere. Chen Pei-yu Legislator (DPP) It is truly regrettable, whether they wanted activists to remove any piece of clothing with symbols of Taiwan, or whether they tried to police any mention of Taiwan, to take away the rights of these groups to engage in dialogue with the world. Of course we do know that the CCP is more than likely behind this regrettable incident. The incident suggests that China’s long-arm jurisdiction has now overreached into the sidelines of the WHA, which is taking place this week until May 23. For more Taiwan news, tune in: Mon to Fri at 9:30 pm on Channel 152 Tue to Sat at 1 am on Channel 53 #WHA #WHO #publichealth #geneva #china #台灣新聞 #TaiwanNews #民視新聞 #FTV新聞 #Taiwan