Despite the lack of an official invitation, a Taiwanese delegation is to leave at midnight tomorrow for the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva, Switzerland, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
The government will work with health and medical associations from around the world to host forums outside the assembly meeting that focus on issues related to antibiotic resistance, dental care for elderly patients and strengthening healthcare systems, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who is to lead the delegation.
The topic of this year’s WHA meeting is universal health coverage and as Taiwan is a world leader in universal health coverage, it us to jointly host with the World Medical Association a forum on the topic, he said.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
Chen also responded to a statement by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office yesterday, which said that Taiwan did not receive an invitation because the Democratic Progressive Party government refuses to acknowledge the so-called “1992 consensus,” and accused Taiwan of “playing the sympathy card” to gain support from other nations.
“We are going to the WHA to make contributions and are not playing the ‘sympathy card,’” Chen said. “We are playing the ‘anger’ and ‘soft power’ cards. [China] should not use politics to harm the interests of Taiwanese.”
The “1992 consensus” refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation as to what “China” means.
The government is dissatisfied and disappointed at the lack of an invitation, Chen said, adding that the nation’s allies are to make strongly worded statements at the assembly to protest the decision to exclude Taiwan.
Nevertheless, the delegation would seek to have more exchanges with healthcare officials worldwide to teach more nations about Taiwan’s medical achievements, Chen said.
Although Taiwan is not a WHO member, it would score 85 points on the organization’s public risk indicator, which would place it in the same category as Japan, South Korea, Canada, Singapore and other nations with quality healthcare systems.
“If I run into the WHO secretary-general this year, I will directly ask him why his organization decided to disregard the health of 23 million Taiwanese,” Chen said.
AIR SUPPORT: The Ministry of National Defense thanked the US for the delivery, adding that it was an indicator of the White House’s commitment to the Taiwan Relations Act Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) and Representative to the US Alexander Yui on Friday attended a delivery ceremony for the first of Taiwan’s long-awaited 66 F-16C/D Block 70 jets at a Lockheed Martin Corp factory in Greenville, South Carolina. “We are so proud to be the global home of the F-16 and to support Taiwan’s air defense capabilities,” US Representative William Timmons wrote on X, alongside a photograph of Taiwanese and US officials at the event. The F-16C/D Block 70 jets Taiwan ordered have the same capabilities as aircraft that had been upgraded to F-16Vs. The batch of Lockheed Martin
GRIDLOCK: The National Fire Agency’s Special Search and Rescue team is on standby to travel to the countries to help out with the rescue effort A powerful earthquake rocked Myanmar and neighboring Thailand yesterday, killing at least three people in Bangkok and burying dozens when a high-rise building under construction collapsed. Footage shared on social media from Myanmar’s second-largest city showed widespread destruction, raising fears that many were trapped under the rubble or killed. The magnitude 7.7 earthquake, with an epicenter near Mandalay in Myanmar, struck at midday and was followed by a strong magnitude 6.4 aftershock. The extent of death, injury and destruction — especially in Myanmar, which is embroiled in a civil war and where information is tightly controlled at the best of times —
Taiwan was ranked the fourth-safest country in the world with a score of 82.9, trailing only Andorra, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar in Numbeo’s Safety Index by Country report. Taiwan’s score improved by 0.1 points compared with last year’s mid-year report, which had Taiwan fourth with a score of 82.8. However, both scores were lower than in last year’s first review, when Taiwan scored 83.3, and are a long way from when Taiwan was named the second-safest country in the world in 2021, scoring 84.8. Taiwan ranked higher than Singapore in ninth with a score of 77.4 and Japan in 10th with
SECURITY RISK: If there is a conflict between China and Taiwan, ‘there would likely be significant consequences to global economic and security interests,’ it said China remains the top military and cyber threat to the US and continues to make progress on capabilities to seize Taiwan, a report by US intelligence agencies said on Tuesday. The report provides an overview of the “collective insights” of top US intelligence agencies about the security threats to the US posed by foreign nations and criminal organizations. In its Annual Threat Assessment, the agencies divided threats facing the US into two broad categories, “nonstate transnational criminals and terrorists” and “major state actors,” with China, Russia, Iran and North Korea named. Of those countries, “China presents the most comprehensive and robust military threat