A hero?

In Bullying Taiwan, Tim Lehmann critizes China's efforts to thwart Taiwan. He also points out how U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan bowed to a demand by China. Journalists had originally been scheduled to view--from inside the U.N. building--an address by Chen Shui-bian (via video-link from Taipei, because he's generally not allowed into the US). But without the consent of the head of the U.N. Correspondents Association, Annan forced them out of the building. Sure, the Chinese are being typically petty; this was after the Taiwanese bid to join the UN was rejected, at their behest. But Annan looks pretty bad, too.

It was curious that Chen should be singled out in not being allowed to speak at the UNCA. After all, the UNCA has traditionally been a "free speech zone," Jenkins pointed out to Annan, noting that the UNCA has in the past permitted a wide range of individuals and groups to speak on its premises, including a number of groups of dubious repute, such as the IRA, the Taliban, and the Iranian People's Mujahadeen.

Tim Lehmann also discusses a humiliation for Taiwan at the Paralympics:

Taiwan's first lady, Wu Shu-jen, arrived in Athens a week ago Sunday with the intention of leading Taiwan's delegation at the opening ceremonies of the 2004 Paralympic Games, a parallel event to the Olympics dedicated to athletes with disabilities. Wu, the emeritus president of the Chinese Taipei Paralympic Committee (CPTC), has been paralyzed from the waist down since 1985.

Once it became clear that Wu would lead Taiwan's athletes, China attempted to strong-arm the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) into revoking Wu's status as head of the "Chinese Taipei" (Taiwan's name at international events) team. China, which claims sovereignty over self-governing Taiwan, had averred that Wu's presence at the Paralympics would politicize the games.

Early in the week, the IPC bent to China's will and disqualified Wu from leading the team, stripping her of her National Paralympic Card on the ostensible grounds that she was not the official head of the CPTC. This decision, too, was taken at China's insistence, even though the IPC knew her status in August when it issued her the card. In response, Taiwan submitted an official protest to the IPC, pointing out that many of the other delegations to the games--including Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Japan, and Korea--were not headed by the presidents of their national paralympic committees.

My italics. So how does Lin Chieh-yu of the Taipei Times spin the humiliation? Huang returns a real hero

...one of the most famous heroes of Taiwan's delegation is not an athlete but the Deputy Secretary-General of the Presidential Office James Huang (黃志芳), who outmaneuvered China's diplomatic machinations and helped first lady Wu Shu-jen (吳淑珍) accomplish her trip to Athens.