Taiwan Officially Protests to South Korea After Cancellation of Domestic Minister-Level Officials' Announcement

Cancellation on Event Day After Invitation in Early September, Korean Representative Office Deputy Head Also Called to Express Complaints
4th Industrial Revolution Committee to Hold International Conference on 16th... Taiwan's Cancellation Reason: 'Considering Various Aspects of Cross-Strait Relations'

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] The 4th Industrial Revolution Committee, a presidential advisory body in South Korea, committed a discourtesy by canceling the speech of a minister-level Taiwanese official on the day of an international conference, prompting the Taiwanese government to publicly protest.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

On the night of the 20th, the Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs released a statement on its website, revealing that Audrey Tang (Tang Feng), Minister without Portfolio in charge of digital affairs at the Executive Yuan, was scheduled to deliver a virtual speech at the "2021 4th Industrial Revolution Global Policy Conference" held by South Korea's 4th Industrial Revolution Committee on the 16th, but the Korean side notified the cancellation in the early morning of the event day.

The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that it "called in the acting representative of the Korean Mission in Taipei to express strong dissatisfaction" regarding this matter.

The Ministry explained that the 4th Industrial Revolution Committee had originally invited Minister Tang in September and that she was to present on Taiwan's digital social innovation in her capacity as Taiwan's Digital Minister at the event.

Taiwan's Central News Agency, citing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, reported that the Korean side cited "considerations of various aspects of cross-strait relations" as the reason for the invitation cancellation.

Tang Feng, a former genius hacker, was appointed as Digital Minister without Portfolio in 2016 at the age of 35, setting the record as the youngest minister-level official in Taiwan's government history. Minister Tang is a transgender member of the LGBTQ community, symbolizing the progressiveness and openness of Taiwanese society.

She attended the Democracy Summit hosted by U.S. President Joe Biden this month as Taiwan's representative, substituting for President Tsai Ing-wen. During her virtual speech, Minister Tang displayed a background map differentiating countries such as China in red, symbolizing "closed societies," and Taiwan in green, symbolizing an "open society." The U.S. government later removed the video of her speech, fearing it might provoke China.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.