Taiwanese in B.C. see hopeful signs that attitudes are softening toward island's push for sovereignty

Andy Chen is consul general for Taiwan in everything but name, he says.

Taiwan's top envoy in Vancouver has theofficial title of director-general of the Taiwan Economic and Cultural Officebecause the island, a disputed territory claimed by the People's Republic of China, does not have a designated embassy or consulate in Canada.

But Chen says attitudes toward Taiwan are shifting, and that many Canadian officials already treat him as if he represented an independent country even though Ottawa doesn't formally acknowledge him as such.

"Our [Canadian politician] friends call me 'director general,' and sometimes some other friends call me 'consul general,'" said Chen,a career diplomat whose officeprovides consular services for the Western provinces, Yukon and Northwest Territories, such as processing visa applications for Canadians and legalizing official documents for Taiwanese.

"Even some of the consuls general in Vancouver from other countries [call me 'consul general']. They know my job description."

How Taiwan is beating COVID-19. Can Canada do the same?

5 years ago

Duration 5:42

Both Taiwan and Canada reported their first presumptive cases of COVID-19 within days of each other, but their experience of life with the pandemic has been quite different. Children in Taiwan are still in school, restaurants are open and theres no shortage of protective supplies. Watch what Canada can learn from Taiwan's approach to fight the spread of the coronavirus.

Based on the Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations, an international treaty Canada ratified in 1966, "consul general" is reserved for top envoys from countries with full diplomatic ties with Canada stationed in cities other than Ottawa. Top envoys assigned to Ottawa bear the title "ambassador."

Taiwan lost its diplomatic recognition with many countries along with its seat at the United Nations when the People's Republic of China joined the UN in 1971.

For decades, Taiwanese across the globe including around 40,000 in B.C. have been pushing for the island to be recognized as a sovereign state and to once again berepresentedin the UN.

Many hope the country's impressive management of the COVID-19 pandemic will help its bid for recognition.

The island has kept the number of infections at around 500 out of its 24 million population, while China, where COVID-19 originated, has had more than 90,000 positive testsso far.

Along with Chen's comments on how he's viewed by consuls general,Taiwan's search for recognition was given another surprising boost last week when Hsiao Bi-khim, the island's top envoy to Washington, D.C., changed her Twitter bio to "Taiwan Ambassador to the US."

Taiwan's identity has always been a sensitive topic in China's foreign relations. Although Hsiao later tweeted that her official title is the Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, her new online ID triggered a fresh round of debates between Beijing and Taipei.

In a statement to CBC News, the People's Republic of China's consulate in Vancouver says Taiwan is an "inalienable part" of China that is solely represented by its central government in Beijing.

This doesn't reverberate with Taiwanese Canadians like Carol Pan, who lives in Vancouver and volunteers with Overseas Community Affairs Council, an organization affiliated with the Taiwanese government to arrange social activities for its citizens living in other countries.

"Taiwan has always been an independent country," Pan said. "After the Second World War, the People's Republic of China never set foot on Taiwan."

Pan said Hsiao's self-identification as ambassador is "wonderful" and gives thumbs-up to Chen's being called "consul general."

"We are hoping eventually some democratic countries can support Taiwan going to be recognized at first and then going to the United Nations," she said.

In a statement to CBC, Global Affairs said Canada will continue to build people-to-people ties based on shared democratic values and respect for human rights.