US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement published on Wednesday urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.
The US “strongly encourages the WHO to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at this year’s WHA so the world may once again benefit from Taiwan’s expertise and experience,” the statement said.
The WHA, themed “All for Health, Health for All,” is to take place from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA since 2017, as China has become more aggressive in opposing the nation’s participation in international forums after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016.
“Inviting Taiwan to observe the WHA is a critically important step toward affirming the WHO’s goal of ‘Health for All,’” Blinken said.
With “exceptional capabilities and approaches,” Taiwan has repeatedly demonstrated “a capability and willingness to help address global health crises and support the global health community,” he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Excluding Taiwan from the WHA “undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands — and urgently needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan yesterday called on the nation’s diplomatic allies to support its involvement in the WHO pandemic agreement.
WHO member states are to discuss the world’s first pandemic agreement during the WHA.
The agreement includes mechanisms such as transfers of technology and know-how, access and benefit sharing, and a global supply chain and logistics network to facilitate information sharing and provide technological support during global pandemics.
Taiwan should strive for the opportunity to be a contracting party to the agreement, foundation executive director Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) told a forum in Taipei.
The nation can solicit support from its allies to negotiate on allowing all countries, economies and health entities to join the agreement, Lin said.
If Taiwan cannot take part in the agreement, it should still hope to take part in the meetings and the contracting parties’ technical mechanisms as an observer, she said.
The revised draft of the agreement, which was released in March, states that the document “shall be open for signature by all states and by regional economic integration organizations.”
Taiwan should seek to participate as a member of regional organizations, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said.
Separately, the Oklahoma Legislature and the Illinois House of Representatives this week passed resolutions to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
The Oklahoma Senate introduced a concurrent resolution, which was adopted by both of its chambers on Wednesday, to encourage “further economic ties and friendship between the state of Oklahoma and Taiwan.”
The state supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization and many others, the bill says.
Oklahoma and the rest of the US “have benefited immeasurably through decades of unwavering friendship with Taiwan, and the wider world is sure to reap tremendous rewards as Taiwan works to enhance its presence in the international community,” it says.
Illinois Representative William Davis, cochair of the state’s Taiwan Friendship Caucus, proposed a resolution to reaffirm the state’s commitment to boosting ties with Taiwan.
The Illinois bill also voices support for the nation’s meaningful participation in international organizations, as well as “Taiwan’s aspiration to make more contributions in international societies.”
Adopting a policy of “steadfast diplomacy,” Taiwan “is capable of fulfilling, and willing to fulfill, its responsibilities and to collaborate with the world to deal with the challenges of humanitarian aid, disease control, and so forth,” it says.
The bill was adopted by the Illinois House on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by CNA
The International Industrial Talents Education Special (INTENSE) Program to attract foreigners to study and work in Taiwan will provide scholarships and a living allowance of up to NT$440,000 per person for two years beginning in August, Minister of Education Pan Wen-chung (潘文忠) told a meeting of the legislature’s Education and Culture Committee yesterday. Pan was giving an update on the program’s implementation, a review of universities’ efforts to recruit international students and promotion of the Taiwan Huayu Bilingual Exchanges of Selected Talent (BEST) program. Each INTENSE Program student would be awarded a scholarship of up to NT$100,000 per year for up to
BASIC OPERATIONS: About half a dozen navy ships from both countries took part in the days-long exercise based on the Code for Unplanned Encounters at Sea An unpublicized joint military exercise between Taiwan and the US in the Pacific Ocean last month was carried out in accordance with an international code, the Ministry of National Defense (MND) said yesterday. According to a Reuters report citing four unnamed sources, the two nations’ navies last month conducted joint drills in the Western Pacific. The drills were not made public at the time, but “about half-a-dozen navy ships from both sides, including frigates and supply and support vessels, participated in the days-long exercises,” Reuters reported, citing the sources. The drills were designed to practice “basic” operations such as communications, refueling and resupplies,
Singapore yesterday swore in Lawrence Wong (黃循財) as the city-state’s new prime minister in a ceremony broadcast live on television after Lee Hsien Loong (李顯龍) stepped down following two decades in office. Wong, formerly deputy prime minister, was inaugurated at the Istana government office shortly after 8pm to become the second person outside the Lee family to lead the nation. “I ... do solemnly swear that I will at all times faithfully discharge my duties as prime minister according to law, and to the best of my knowledge and ability, without fear or favor, affection or ill-will. So help me God,” the
‘MONEY PIT’: The KMT’s more than NT$2 trillion infrastructure project proposals for eastern Taiwan lack professional input and financial transparency, the DPP said The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus yesterday said it would ask the Executive Yuan to raise a motion to oppose the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) caucus’ infrastructure proposals and prepare to file for a constitutional interpretation if the KMT-dominated legislature forces their passage. The DPP caucus described the three infrastructure plans for transportation links to eastern Taiwan proposed by the KMT as “three money pit projects” that would cost more than NT$2 trillion (US$61.72 billion). It would ask the Executive Yuan to oppose public projects that would drain state financial resources, DPP caucus secretary-general Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) said. It would also file for