The US Department of State yesterday urged Taiwan to focus on meaningful participation in the WHO.
Following a lengthy discussion on the feasibility of Taiwan's entry into the WHO, a State Department official gave a background briefing to Taiwanese media yesterday, saying that since the US did not support Taiwan's participation in international organizations whose membership requires statehood, the US government would not back Taiwan's plan to become a WHO member state.
The official said the decision corresponds with President Chen Shui-bian's (
When asked if the US would vote for Taiwan's application to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, the official said he could not answer hypothetical questions.
The official also issued a prepared statement saying that the US strongly supports Taiwan's meaningful participation in organizations that require no statehood.
Because membership of the WHO requires statehood, and the US has in the past strongly encouraged Taiwan to focus on meaningful participation in the WHA, the statement said.
The US strongly encourages Taiwan and the international community to focus on Taiwan's meaningful participation in the WHA, since if Taiwan fails to participate in a meaningful manner, the 23 million of people of Taiwan would not have the opportunity to make substantial contributions to various health programs, thereby preventing Taiwanese people from benefiting, it said.
The official reiterated the long established US policy that Washington does not support Taiwanese independence and opposes any attempt by either side of the Taiwan Strait to change the status quo unilaterally, saying that Chen has repeatedly pledged that no pressure, international or domestic, would change his commitment to the "four noes."
The official also said that applying for membership as a nation in any organization where statehood is a membership requirement is inconsistent with Chen's pledge that he would not change the national title. He added that Chen's promises were very important to regional peace and stability and were a test of his statesmanship.
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
TAKE BREAKS: A woman developed cystitis by refusing to get up to use the bathroom while playing mahjong for fear of disturbing her winning streak, a doctor said People should stand up and move around often while traveling or playing mahjong during the Lunar New Year holiday, as prolonged sitting can lead to cystitis or hemorrhoids, doctors said. Yuan’s General Hospital urologist Lee Tsung-hsi (李宗熹) said that he treated a 63-year-old woman surnamed Chao (趙) who had been sitting motionless and holding off going to the bathroom, increasing her risk of bladder infection. Chao would drink beverages and not urinate for several hours while playing mahjong with friends and family, especially when she was on a winning streak, afraid that using the bathroom would ruin her luck, he said. She had
MUST REMAIN FREE: A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would lead to a global conflict, and if the nation blows up, the world’s factories would fall in a week, a minister said Taiwan is like Prague in 1938 facing Adolf Hitler; only if Taiwan remains free and democratic would the world be safe, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Francois Wu (吳志中) said in an interview with Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The ministry on Saturday said Corriere della Sera is one of Italy’s oldest and most read newspapers, frequently covers European economic and political issues, and that Wu agreed to an interview with the paper’s senior political analyst Massimo Franco in Taipei on Jan. 3. The interview was published on Jan. 26 with the title “Taiwan like Prague in 1938 with Hitler,” the ministry
RSS