Geopolitical drama

There are not many days where i feel more aligned with the US or tha UK than with the European Union, but today is such a day. Earlier this morning during the 53rd WIPO General Assembly, China blocked the Wikimedia Foundation from becoming a WIPO observer (supposedly because WM has a chapter in Taiwan, which goes against the PRC’s one China principle):

Let me try to clarify and give more details about this diplomatic incident. @Wikimedia applied to be an observer @WIPO because this is the intl forum that discusses issues like access to medicines and access to knowledge and agrees on intl laws on #copyright and patents. 1/ https://t.co/yCd22LdJxp

— Teresa Nobre (@tenobre) September 23, 2020

In reaction to this both the UK (on behalf of a group of countries that also includes the EU member states) and the US came out in support of Wikimedia’s application. The delegation of the EU remained silent.

Kowtowing to Chinese attempts to exclude an important civil society stakeholder with a strong track record of constructive contributions to IP policy discussions is shameful. Unfortunately it is also in line with the overall geopolitical approach that the EU is taking vis a vis China. It is disturbing that in its effort to appease China to protect trade relations, the EU is now willing abandon civil society actors.