TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The head of Taiwan's civil engineering organization was successfully able to remove "China" from his credentials at a UN-related engineers conference in the Czech Republic.

The World Federation of Engineering Organizations (WFEO), established under the initiative and support of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), held a general meeting of members earlier this month in Prague. When Shih Yi-fang (施義芳), the chairman of Taiwan's Chinese Union of Professional Civil Engineers Association (CUPCEA), attended the WFEO event, he immediately protested after discovering that Taiwan had been listed as a part of China, reported Liberty Times.

The WFEO held its biennial general conference, known as the World Engineers Convention (WEC), from Oct. 11-13, the CUPCEA said on Oct. 19. Shih attended the event as a representative of Taiwan.

When he checked in, he discovered that Taiwan was listed as "Taiwan, China. He immediately lodged a strong protest, leading to a discussion by the organizing committee, which resulted in the on-site rectification of the listing for Taiwan on Shih's credentials.

Shih was cited by the newspaper as saying that over the years, he has represented Taiwan at various international events and has frequently been denied entry due to pressure from Beijing. Once again, while representing Taiwan at this significant global engineering conference, Shih said he was not surprised to encounter oppression.

However, he emphasized that "To uphold our nation's dignity," he would not accept the denigration of Taiwan's status. In this case, Shih said he was successful.

Based on past experience, Shih the success of the protest depends on the organizers. Taiwanese representatives attending a conference in Russia were denied a request to rectify Taiwan's name and were so infuriated that they walked out of the meeting in protest, said Shih.

In this case, after some negotiation, they successfully attended the convention under the name "Taiwan" which "did not denigrate the dignity of the country." Shih expressed thanks to the WEC organizers for their fair-minded approach.

Shih holds up original delegate badge (left) and corrected version. (Chinese Institute of Engineers photo)