Published 21:25 IST, February 6th 2020
‘Hacktivist’ group Anonymous hosts pro-Taiwan page on UN website
A decentralized international hacktivist group, Anonymous, hacked the United Nations website to create a page with a black background in support of Taiwan.
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A decentralized international hacktivist group, Anonymous, reportedly hacked the website of the United Nations to create a page in support of Taiwan. The hacker group hosted a new page with a black background and Anonymous symbol, a black suit and a question mark, on the server of the United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
A Reddit user hubahuba111 uploaded a link of the hacked page with the caption "Thanks to Anonymous Taiwan is back at UN again!" Below the Anonymous symbol, "TAIWAN NUMBAH WANNNN!!" was written in reference to a famous quote uttered by an American gamer AngryPug which meant ‘Taiwan number one’.
The page also had the Taiwan flag, the party emblem of the Kuomintang (KMT), and an embedded YouTube video that played Taiwan's national anthem. A page was live for more than 14 hours and Reddit users praised the hacktivist group for standing up for Taiwan. “We have never left. It would be nice to get official recognition. But we have always been there,” wrote a user. “I like how they put both KMT and DPP flags in there,” wrote another user.
In 1971, the United Nations suspended passed a resolution to recognise the People's Republic of China (PRC) as ‘the only legitimate representative of China to the United Nations’ and removed the representative of Taiwan or the Republic of China (ROC).
The self-governing island republic considers itself as sovereign while China claims the province as Beijing’s territory under its one-China policy. Chinese President Xi Jinping has asserted, through his speeches, that China has the right to use force in order to bring Taiwan under its control but Beijing prefers “peaceful reunification”. In 2016, China severed ties with Taiwan government after Tsai was elected as President.
Law to block China's political interference
In December last year, Taiwan’s legislature passed a contentious law to block political interference from China, before the upcoming presidential and legislative elections. The Anti-Infiltration Law is aimed at diluting China’s attempt to influence Taiwan’s internal politics and diplomacy. Legislators of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), led by President Tsai Ing-wen, said that the law will thwart foreign interference and manipulation.
21:25 IST, February 6th 2020