Thread by @mcculloughirvin

NEW RESEARCH: China coerced some US-based think tanks to change how they talked about Taiwan by threatening to block their access to the United Nations if they didn't comply, @jessicadrun and @BonnieGlaser uncovered.

The report's a bit technical, the case studies aren't: /THREAD

Quick context: China's leading a pressure campaign to rewrite Taiwan's status in the UN, falsely reinterpreting an old UN resolution to spread a fallacy. Full context at the report, that's all you need to know for these case studies. gmfus.org/news/distortio…

First up, Wikimedia and the World Intellectual Property Organization. China tried to block Wikimedia's observer status at WIPO because the information available on Wikipedia purportedly “violated” China's “One China” principle and the old UN resolution. China succeeded.

Although Wikimedia submitted materials describing how Wikipedia works, China blocked their application for observership in 2020 and 2021. One member state can veto an outsider's request. Wikimedia is applying again and will only be admitted if China decides to lift its blockade.

And the researchers brought the receipts: meeting minutes showing China block Wikimedia's application.

Second is the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material. The CPPNM, under the auspices of the IAEA, holds an annual conference to review the implementation of the convention. NGOs can observe that conference...subject to approval.

In late December 2021, China objected to the participation of five organizations, which were directed to correct “mistakes” in publications that mention Taiwan or risk having their attendance blocked. Two of those orgs are the Stimson Center and the Nuclear Threat Initiative.

China targeted critical pressure points to compel NGOs to comply or lose these invaluable resources. Who wants to be barred from participating and lose their access? It's a clear message: comply or else.

NTI made adjustments to its website’s “Taiwan” country page, which originally featured an image of the ROC flag, as well as text description of “losing mainland China to the Chinese Communist Party.” As you can see here, both were removed and a new sentence added.

China complained that one of Stimson's reports on unregulated fishing contained “incorrect” references to Taiwan. Those references were changed.

Quick aside, I have huge respect for NTI and the Stimson Center. Unwavering respect. Their work literally helps save the world. @gmfus is publicizing these pressure tactics so that organizations can resist them and feel more confident publicizing them in the future.

It's not just NGOs: UN personnel revised historical documents, replacing original mentions of “Taiwan” with “Taiwan, Province of China," such as in this International Telecommunications Union report on disaster relief from 2014 or an ITU Study Group report from 2000.

And again, the report's broader than these case studies. You can find it in the second tweet in this thread. And if you don't want to read the whole report, check out @ewong and @amyyqin's great piece on it from this morning: nytimes.com/2022/03/24/us/…