The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday confirmed the existence of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between China and the WHO in 2005, contradicting comments by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) a day earlier.
The existence and content of the MOU have been discussed publicly on numerous occasions by MOFA and its Chinese counterpart, but on Monday, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) raised eyebrows by saying he could not be certain that the document existed because the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) “was not in power in 2005.” He challenged the former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration’s claim that the document was signed to limit Taiwan’s participation in the organization.
“We are uncertain whether China signed an MOU with the WHO, but we don’t wish to see any such documents. However, we have heard about the signing of this secret MOU. But because [the KMT] was not in power at the time, we have no way of finding out,” Ma said in an interview with Taiwan’s China Television.
But MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told the Taipei Times last night that the ministry’s position on the matter was clear.
“They signed the MOU, but we have never recognized it or acknowledged its power to restrict our interaction with the WHO,” he said. “As an independent sovereignty, we have been protesting this since 2005.”
Ma’s comment ignored past press briefings, annual reports and interviews in which both MOFA and the Department of Health (DOH) have recognized that the MOU exists. A Central News Agency (CNA) report last month quoted Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) as saying the 2005 MOU had restricted the participation of Taiwanese health experts in WHO-related activities.
The Formosan Association for Public Affairs has also published on its Web site a facsimile of what appears to be a WHO document titled “Implementation of the Memorandum of Understanding Between the WHO Secretariat and China.”
Asked whether the Ma administration was persisting in its protest to the WHO over the document, Chen reiterated that the government did not recognize its validity.
Regardless of whether an MOU was signed, it has no power to restrict anyone, he said.
“MOFA has never cared whether China and the WHO signed an MOU or not. By definition, an MOU is between the two signatories, so why should [Taiwan] concern itself about it?” he told the Taipei Times.
“If we are not restricted in any way, we should just ignore it because it literally does not exist or have any efficacy. Why do you want to bring it up?” he said when contacted again for further comment.
Chen said the WHO’s inclusion of Taiwan in the International Health Regulations (IHR) in January and its invitation of the country to the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer showed that Taiwan’s participation had not been constrained.
Chen said an MOU between two parties does not constrain a third party, but if it does, the third party will refuse to recognize it. Taiwan has never recognized the MOU, he said, adding that he had never seen it.
Chen also said yesterday that Taiwan’s accession to the WHA as an observer was the fruit of direct consultations with the WHO.
On April 30, a CNA report quoted WHO spokesman Thomas Abraham as saying “the WHO was not involved at all” in Taiwan’s accession to WHA this year.
At the time, the Taipei Times contacted Chen for comment, who said the ministry would not comment without verifying the report.
Yesterday Chen declined to comment on the matter again, saying the ministry was still verifying Abraham’s remarks.
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon yesterday morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan from tomorrow to Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was approximately 950km east-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, the CWA said. It is expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, it said. The agency said it could issue a sea warning in the early hours of today and a land warning in the afternoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the storm was moving at
DISCONTENT: The CCP finds positive content about the lives of the Chinese living in Taiwan threatening, as such video could upset people in China, an expert said Chinese spouses of Taiwanese who make videos about their lives in Taiwan have been facing online threats from people in China, a source said yesterday. Some young Chinese spouses of Taiwanese make videos about their lives in Taiwan, often speaking favorably about their living conditions in the nation compared with those in China, the source said. However, the videos have caught the attention of Chinese officials, causing the spouses to come under attack by Beijing’s cyberarmy, they said. “People have been messing with the YouTube channels of these Chinese spouses and have been harassing their family members back in China,”
UPDATED FORECAST: The warning covered areas of Pingtung County and Hengchun Peninsula, while a sea warning covering the southern Taiwan Strait was amended The Central Weather Administration (CWA) at 5:30pm yesterday issued a land warning for Typhoon Usagi as the storm approached Taiwan from the south after passing over the Philippines. As of 5pm, Usagi was 420km south-southeast of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan proper’s southernmost tip, with an average radius of 150km, the CWA said. The land warning covered areas of Pingtung County and the Hengchun Peninsula (恆春), and came with an amended sea warning, updating a warning issued yesterday morning to cover the southern part of the Taiwan Strait. No local governments had announced any class or office closures as of press time last night. The typhoon
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) yesterday said there are four weather systems in the western Pacific, with one likely to strengthen into a tropical storm and pose a threat to Taiwan. The nascent tropical storm would be named Usagi and would be the fourth storm in the western Pacific at the moment, along with Typhoon Yinxing and tropical storms Toraji and Manyi, the CWA said. It would be the first time that four tropical cyclones exist simultaneously in November, it added. Records from the meteorology agency showed that three tropical cyclones existed concurrently in January in 1968, 1991 and 1992.
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