The organizers of the 228 Hand-in-Hand Rally yesterday held hands once again along with several non-governmental organizations to call on the World Health Organization (WHO) to grant Taiwan observer status in the health body.
Meanwhile, the WHO stated that the new accreditation procedures which will bar Taiwanese reporters from the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) were not created under Chinese influence.
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
accreditation
While the office responsible for the accreditation process, the UN Department of Public Information, stated on Tuesday that reporters holding Taiwanese passports would not be granted press passes to the WHA, department official Katherine Segli yesterday further said that the newspaper also had to be headquartered in a UN member state for accreditation.
According to Segli, if the journalist seeking accreditation holds a passport from a UN member state but writes for a newspaper headquartered in Taiwan, then accreditation could not be granted.
At the same time, a Taiwanese passport is grounds for the rejection of accreditation application, no matter which publication the journalists work for.
In light of the new policies, several political leaders cautioned that excluding Taiwan from the WHO was "health apartheid."
"Infectious diseases will not stop at Taiwan's borders, nor will infectious diseases be confined to Taiwan," chief organizer Ng Chiau-tong (
The Feb. 28 Hand-in-Hand Rally saw the formation of a 500km human chain to symbolize the protection of Taiwan from Chinese missiles.
"Many people say that gaining observer status for Taiwan is a `mission impossible,' but the 228 rally was mission impossible as well. But it was accomplished in the end," said Lin Shih-chia (
Ng said that Taiwan's population surpassed that of at least three-fourths of the WHO members.
Linking hands
Raising linked hands, the 228 Hand in Hand Rally planners said in unison, "Say Yes to Taiwan, Say No to China."
According to the Medical Professionals' Alliance, a total of 71 people representing at least 10 organizations will be heading for Geneva to support Taiwan's bid.
Representatives including Presidential advisor Chen Lung-chu (陳隆志) and General Secretary of the Presbyterian Church in Taiwan Reverend William J.K. Lo (羅榮光), departed for Europe yesterday in a last-minute effort to garner support for Taiwan's application for observer status.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also said yesterday that several media groups, including the Geneva Association of United Nations Correspondents (ACANU), said they support the accreditation of Taiwanese reporters.
policy changes
Recent policy changes made public on Tuesday by the UN Department of Public Information on the accreditation process to obtain press passes for covering the WHA will bar Taiwanese passport holders from entry into the assembly building.
While WHO spokesman Iain Simpson yesterday said that China had not had a hand in creating the new regulations, MOFA spokesman Richard Shih (
Shih also said that it does not bode well for Taiwan that this year's WHA president hails from Pakistan, a country that has traditionally been supportive of China's policies and that could turn the vote against Taiwan.
‘DENIAL DEFENSE’: The US would increase its military presence with uncrewed ships, and submarines, while boosting defense in the Indo-Pacific, a Pete Hegseth memo said The US is reorienting its military strategy to focus primarily on deterring a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a memo signed by US Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth showed. The memo also called on Taiwan to increase its defense spending. The document, known as the “Interim National Defense Strategic Guidance,” was distributed this month and detailed the national defense plans of US President Donald Trump’s administration, an article in the Washington Post said on Saturday. It outlines how the US can prepare for a potential war with China and defend itself from threats in the “near abroad,” including Greenland and the Panama
A wild live dugong was found in Taiwan for the first time in 88 years, after it was accidentally caught by a fisher’s net on Tuesday in Yilan County’s Fenniaolin (粉鳥林). This is the first sighting of the species in Taiwan since 1937, having already been considered “extinct” in the country and considered as “vulnerable” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature. A fisher surnamed Chen (陳) went to Fenniaolin to collect the fish in his netting, but instead caught a 3m long, 500kg dugong. The fisher released the animal back into the wild, not realizing it was an endangered species at
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
RSS