Taiwan should apply for full membership in the World Health Organization (WHO) next year instead of requesting observer status, officials of several non-governmental organizations (NGOs) said yesterday.
"Taiwan is already a sovereign state. Whether pushing for observer status or full membership, the bid is a difficult one. Why not fight for full membership?" said Chen Lung-chu (
Key leaders in Taiwan's WHO bid, which was defeated last week -- including Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan President Wu Shuh-min (
PHOTO: SEAN CHAO, TAIPEI TIMES
Medical Professionals Alliance Executive Director Lin Shih-chia (
"Observer status only lasts six days each year; full membership ensures healthcare benefits all year round," Lin said.
The WHO constitution does not directly define observer status, referring only to the power of the World Health Assembly (WHA) "to invite any organization, international or national, governmental or non-governmental, which has responsibilities related to those of the Organization, to appoint representatives to participate, without right of vote, in its meetings or in those of the committees and conferences convened under its authority."
In recent years, Taiwan has unsuccessfully applied for WHO participation as an observer to the WHA, the organization's highest decision-making body.
"Michael Kau (
However, Maysing Yang (
"While their [the NGOs'] views are on the right track, there are many difficulties that stand in the way," Yang said.
She explained that a lot of progress was made this year, with the US and Japan voting for the inclusion of Taiwan's application in the WHA agenda. Switching gears and calling for full membership could possibly set Taiwan back in terms of US and Japanese support.
"A lot of countries are, for commercial interest among others, afraid to go against China ... politics is higher than international law and human rights in this case," Yang said.
Yang also said that observer status would mean more than just participation in the health body's annual six-day summit, pointing out that observer nations would be invited to other conferences and committees throughout the year.
"It's not bad for them [NGOs] to voice more radical opinions. However, the government needs to take a more practical stance," Yang said.
INFRASTRUCTURE: Work on the second segment, from Kaohsiung to Pingtung, is expected to begin in 2028 and be completed by 2039, the railway bureau said Planned high-speed rail (HSR) extensions would blanket Taiwan proper in four 90-minute commute blocs to facilitate regional economic and livelihood integration, Railway Bureau Deputy Director-General Yang Cheng-chun (楊正君) said in an interview published yesterday. A project to extend the high-speed rail from Zuoying Station in Kaohsiung to Pingtung County’s Lioukuaicuo Township (六塊厝) is the first part of the bureau’s greater plan to expand rail coverage, he told the Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). The bureau’s long-term plan is to build a loop to circle Taiwan proper that would consist of four sections running from Taipei to Hualien, Hualien to
A relatively large earthquake may strike within the next two weeks, following a magnitude 5.2 temblor that shook Taitung County this morning, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. An earthquake struck at 8:18am today 10.2km west of Taitung County Hall in Taitung City at a relatively shallow depth of 6.5km, CWA data showed. The largest intensity of 4 was felt in Taitung and Pingtung counties, which received an alert notice, while areas north of Taichung did not feel any shaking, the CWA said. The earthquake was the result of the collision between the Philippine Plate and the Eurasian Plate, the agency said, adding
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
The 2025 Kaohsiung Wonderland–Winter Amusement Park event has teamed up with the Japanese manga series Chiikawa this year for its opening at Love River Bay yesterday, attracting more than 10,000 visitors, the city government said. Following the success of the “2024 Kaohsiung Wonderland” collaboration with a giant inflatable yellow duck installation designed by Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman, this year the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau collaborated with Chiikawa by Japanese illustrator Nagano to present two giant inflatable characters. Two inflatable floats — the main character, Chiikwa, a white bear-like creature with round ears, and Hachiware, a white cat with a blue-tipped tail
RSS