A new bill sponsored by US Representative Sherrod Brown calling for a plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual summit of the World Health Assembly this coming May indicates renewed hope for Taiwan's WHO bid.
Headed by DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Brown's aides noted that they were looking for additional sponsorship for a bill to support Taiwan's entry in the WHO, which may be introduced in Congress on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lee Ming-liang (
Lee will be joining Brown and other lawmakers in a breakfast meeting today to win greater support from Capitol Hill for Taiwan's participation in the WHO.
The bill proposes that the US secretary of state initiate a plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit of the WHO assembly in May in Geneva, Switzerland.
The bill stipulates that the secretary of state should submit a written report to Congress containing the plan no later than 14 days after enactment of the bill.
Sources said more than a dozen lawmakers have already signed on to co-sponsor the bill, including Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the powerful House International Relations Committee.
Brown introduced a similar bill last March, but no progress toward its passage was made.
Taiwan has been lobbying for WHO membership for many years, and although it has won great sympathy and support on Capital Hill, no substantial progress has been achieved.
Last October, the Department of Health in Taiwan was offended by a decision by the WHO to leave Taiwan off a list of a polio-free countries that was released in Japan. China was on the list, and Taiwan was included as a part of China.
Lee protested that "the success of polio eradication in Taiwan does not equate to China's situation."
Taiwan officials and Taiwan lobby groups such as the Formosa Association for Public Affairs said that they understand it is impossible to get US support for Taiwan's UN entry.
However, many of them believe that there is a window of opportunity with the Bush administration, as his team acknowledges Taiwan should have more international space and is likely to review US-Taiwan relations sometime in the next few months.
The officials and lobbyists said they are optimistic about gaining observer status in the WHO, though they say endorsement of Taiwan's full membership is still unlikely.
They hope to get the bill passed before May and are expecting further breakthroughs in Taiwan's participation in international organizations in the near future.
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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