With the World Health Assembly (WHA) slated to decide whether Taiwan is granted observer status at the international health body today, Taiwanese delegates are counting on diplomatic allies, the US and Japan to throw support behind the application.
Though the WHA has reversed its previous decision that Taiwanese reporters would not be allowed to enter the WHA, the chances for Taiwan's bid to succeed do not look encouraging.
PHOTO: WANG MIN-WEI, TAIPEI TIMES
Shen Lyu-shun (沈呂巡), director-general of the Taipei Cultural and Economic Mission in Geneva, told Taiwanese reporters yesterday that the UN had decided in a last-minute policy u-turn that Taiwanese journalists working with non-government media agencies would be issued press passes.
With the EU slated to vote against placing Taiwan's application on the assembly agenda, the focus has been turned on how Japan and other diplomatic countries will vote.
The US has already agreed to vote for Taiwan if the application is subject to a vote during the assembly meeting slated for this afternoon.
According to Yang May-sing (
However, DPP Legislator Tony Jian (簡肇棟) revealed that MOFA officials had confirmed that there was a 99.9 percent chance that Japan would vote in favor of adding Taiwan's application to the agenda.
In addition, Yang said that aside from Taiwan's 25 diplomatic allies, MOFA was working on garnering the votes of a few South Pacific nations and Asian nations despite a lack of official ties.
"Because they are small nations with diplomatic ties with China, it will be hard for them to vote for Taiwan," Yang said.
The WHA will start today with the General Committee meeting to reconfirm the provisional agenda that was set in January.
While Taiwan's application has not yet been placed on the agenda, 12 nations have together proposed adding Taiwan's bid as a supplementary item.
The only time Taiwan was added to the agenda during the General Committee meeting was during Taiwan's first attempt at entry to the World Health Organization in 1997.
While chances are that Taiwan will not be granted placement on the agenda, the agenda can be challenged during the health assembly slated to take place today.
Aside from the assembly vote, however, the General Committee meeting and the health assembly both provide opportunities for delegates supporting Taiwan's bid to speak on Taiwan's behalf.
According to Yang, Gambia and Chad are slated to speak for Taiwan to challenge the exclusion of Taiwan's application from the agenda.
In past assembly meetings, two nations would speak on Taiwan's behalf while China and another nation would put forth China's stance on the issue.
However, Yang warned that with a Pakistani delegate holding the position of president of the health assembly, it would be difficult to guarantee that Taiwan's supporters would be given a chance to speak.
Pakistan was one of the nations that spoke against Taiwan during last year's WHA. The assembly president presides over the assembly and has the power to decide the amount of time allocated to each speaker.
In addition, MOFA is hoping that the US delegate, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson, will speak on Taiwan's behalf three times. Thompson could speak first during the General Committee, then later during the Health Assembly's general discussion.
Finally, MOFA hopes that Thompson will speak after the health assembly when the EU is slated to explain why it had collectively voted in opposition to Taiwan's application.
While Director General of the Department of Health Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) said "We shall overcome" on the eve of the assembly vote, the only other time that placement of Taiwan's application on the agenda was voted on in the health assembly had led to a landslide win for China.
The 1997 vote saw 128 members voting against Taiwan, and only 19 for Taiwan.
In addition, three allies at the time, Panama, the Bahamas and Costa Rica, abstained from voting. South Africa, still a diplomatic ally then, voted against Taiwan. Belize, not an ally yet in 1997, also voted against Taiwan.
To date, Niue and the Cook Islands retain full membership in the WHO without UN membership. Palestine, the Holy See and the Red Cross have all been invited to observe WHA proceedings.
Also See Story:
US could back Taiwan WHO bid
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College