TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmaker on Monday (Nov. 1) said that if China does not "even bother to show up" to the 26th U.N. Climate Change Conference of Parties (COP26), there is no reason to keep excluding Taiwan.

Over the weekend, it became apparent that neither Chinese Chairman Xi Jinping (習近平) nor any representatives from the communist country would appear at the climate change conference. On Monday, the second day of the nearly two-week gathering of world leaders in Glasgow, Scotland, news broke that Xi would not even appear via videoconferencing and instead would send a "note."

Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) on Monday retweeted a Politico article announcing Xi's paltry contribution to the climate talks and asked if Xi "doesn't even bother to show up (even virtually), why do we continue to let China block Taiwan's participation?" Wang then lamented that Taiwan had yet again been left out of discussions on the "most pressing issue of our time."

In his letter to the event released on Monday, Xi failed to make any new pledges and only spoke in general terms about the need for multilateralism, "realistic targets," and technology to "accelerate the green transition." Reuters cited climate analysts as saying that the world's biggest greenhouse gas emitter “has already decided that it has no more concessions to offer at the U.N. Cop26 climate summit in Scotland after three major pledges since last year."

Pierre-Yves Baubry, an editor for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), retweeted a post by the official COP26 account announcing that "leaders around the world are gathering in Glasgow" for the conference. He then pointed out that although Taiwan has the 21st largest GDP in the world and is a major carbon emitter, it has yet again been excluded, sarcastically concluding, "Certainly because climate can wait."

On its official Twitter account, MOFA posted a tweet that included the hashtag #COP26 and a video titled "A Green Promised Land," which tied Indigenous lore to Taiwan's usage of geothermal, solar, wind, and ocean current energy.

If Xi Jinping doesn't even bother to show up (even virtually), why do we continue to let China block Taiwan's participation.



As world leaders head to Glasgow for #COP26, Taiwan is once again left out of the conversation that seeks to address the most pressing issue of our time. https://t.co/UXn1ABAQTl

— 王定宇 Wang Ting-yu, MP (@MPWangTingyu) November 1, 2021

#COP26 is a go! Mark the moment by watching our short "A Green Promised Land" inspired by indigenous lore. Learn about #Taiwan's〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 commitment to achieving #NetZeroBy2050 through harnessing geothermal, solar, wind & ocean current energy. It's time to stand #TogetherForOurPlanet! pic.twitter.com/0QeKRVjdl9

— 外交部 Ministry of Foreign Affairs, ROC (Taiwan) 〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕〔錯誤字元無法儲存〕 (@MOFA_Taiwan) November 1, 2021