Based on a US State Department report leaked to this newspaper over the weekend and a report in the China Times yesterday, Taiwan may be on the brink of obtaining observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the WHO.
After many years of unsuccessful attempts to join either the WHO or at least the WHA, the US’ charm offensive on Taipei’s behalf, combined with Beijing’s ostensible flexibility of late, is cause for satisfaction, as Taiwan may finally have a voice at and benefit from the global health body, thereby filling a senseless gap in the global health network.
As Taipei, Beijing, Washington and the WHO work on an agreement, one key element to keep an eye out for will be “compromise” — often a euphemism for political gains by Beijing.
This goes well beyond the name under which Taiwan would be allowed to participate.
One such compromise — supported by the US, as the State Department report seems to indicate — is the possibility that Taiwan’s observer status at the WHA would be renewable on an annual basis. This would be a grave mistake, however, as it would put Beijing in a position to blackmail Taiwan and the US every time renewal is at hand. Each year, China could make demands of Taipei, Washington and the international community. To keep what it has, Taipei and its supporters would have to beg to China, while the latter could use the carrot of participation in the WHA to exert political influence.
This is akin to a mobster striking a pact with a shop owner in which he promises not to harm him as long as he pays “protection” money. Every year, the crook and the shop owner sit down to “negotiate.” The thug uses the threat of violence to gradually increase the fee. For a while, the shop owner may yield to the demands out of fear for his safety, but one year, the list of demands grows too long, he refuses and suffers the consequences.
A situation in which one party’s interests or safety are held hostage can hardly be called a “win-win” scenario.
To prevent this potential subjugation from becoming reality, Taiwan’s observer status at the WHA should be permanent and not subject to Beijing’s whims.
Given the right of Taiwanese to have representation at the global health organization, observer status should not be used to give Beijing any leverage over Taiwan.
Permanent status would ensure that regardless of who is in power in Taiwan — the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), the Democratic Progressive Party or anyone else — Taiwanese would continue to benefit from and contribute to the WHO.
Taiwan’s participation at the health body would never be “meaningful” if it became an instrument with which Beijing could make demands of the international community. Condescending as the terminology is (who would want meaningless participation?), Taiwan’s role at the WHA could amount to little more than self-harm if it were hostage to ulterior political motives.
It’s not every month that the US Department of State sends two deputy assistant secretary-level officials to Taiwan, together. Its rarer still that such senior State Department policy officers, once on the ground in Taipei, make a point of huddling with fellow diplomats from “like-minded” NATO, ANZUS and Japanese governments to coordinate their multilateral Taiwan policies. The State Department issued a press release on June 22 admitting that the two American “representatives” had “hosted consultations in Taipei” with their counterparts from the “Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The consultations were blandly dubbed the “US-Taiwan Working Group on International Organizations.” The State
The Rim of the Pacific (RIMPAC) exercises, the largest naval exercise in the region, are aimed at deepening international collaboration and interaction while strengthening tactical capabilities and flexibility in tackling maritime crises. China was invited to participate in RIMPAC in 2014 and 2016, but it was excluded this year. The underlying reason is that Beijing’s ambitions of regional expansion and challenging the international order have raised global concern. The world has made clear its suspicions of China, and its exclusion from RIMPAC this year will bring about a sea change in years to come. The purpose of excluding China is primarily
War in the Middle East, global terrorism and the Ukraine war pose significant threats to the global economy. However, according to Global Guardian, a leading security solutions firm, a conflict between China and Taiwan would cause the greatest disruption since World War II. Its Taiwan Shock Index (TSI) analyzes the potential global impacts of such a war. Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) rhetoric about rejuvenating the People’s Republic of China heavily emphasizes “reunification” with Taiwan. Experts differ on when this might happen. Some point to 2027, the centenary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), as a symbolic and strategic milestone. Others
Many local news media last week reported that COVID-19 is back, citing doctors’ observations and the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) statistics. The CDC said that cases would peak this month and urged people to take preventive measures. Although COVID-19 has never been eliminated, it has become more manageable, and restrictions were dropped, enabling people to return to their normal way of life due to decreasing hospitalizations and deaths. In Taiwan, mandatory reporting of confirmed cases and home isolation ended in March last year, while the mask mandate at hospitals and healthcare facilities stopped in May. However, the CDC last week said the number