Taiwanese are to be excluded from participating in all UNESCO-affiliated events, official at the International Centre for Theoretical Physics have confirmed on Monday.

The confirmation came after Taiwanese researchers — some at institutions abroad — had their applications to join a conference last month rejected.

The news reported first The Taiwan Times daily newspaper.

The ICTP — an organization run jointly by the Italian government and UNESCO — is holding a virtual conference on quantitative biology, which began on Monday last week and runs until Friday next week.

Registration for the conference was open until Nov. 15, but Taiwanese at various institutions around the world posted on Twitter and elsewhere over the past week that their applications had been rejected.

Founded in 1964 by the late Nobel Laureate Abdus Salam, ICTP seeks to accomplish its mandate by providing scientists from developing countries with the continuing education and skills that they need to enjoy long and productive careers, the organization’s Web site says.

Alexander Sullivan, fellow at the Washington-based Center for a New American Security think tank and a Georgetown University doctoral student, on Twitter criticized Beijing’s influence over UNESCO and its affiliated organizations.

On Tuesday, the US-China Economic and Security Review Commission in its annual report recommended that the US secretary of state report on actions planned and taken by the US government to counter Beijing’s isolation of Taiwan.  These actions must “strengthen support for Taiwan’s engagement with the international community, including outlining actions the administration will take should Beijing increase its coercion against Taiwan.”