Speaking about next week’s meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA), US Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte on Thursday reiterated US policy that Taiwan should be allowed to participate as an observer.
“We think they should be allowed to participate as an observer, particularly in organizations like the WHO, where their participation in matters of public health is important, not only to them but to the international community as a whole,” he said.
Negroponte made the remarks at a hearing held by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
However, he declined to specify what the US planned to do next week to help Taiwan gain such a status.
“I cannot comment on the tactics of our upcoming participation [in the WHA] because I’m not fully familiar [with them],” he told reporters afterward, adding that the US position was “we believe that even in organizations that require statehood for membership and, of course, we don’t consider Taiwan a separate independent state, Taiwan should be afforded meaningful participation, such as observer status, and that would certainly be important in an organization such as the WHO.”
In its annual report to Congress earlier this year on its efforts to obtain observer status for Taiwan, the department did not refer to any efforts it plans to introduce such as a resolution, a vote for any such resolution or to press other countries to back Taiwan’s observer status.
Taiwan, under its official title, the Republic of China (ROC), was one of the founding members of the global health organization, but was forced to forfeit its seat in 1972 after the ROC’s seat at the UN was taken by the People’s Republic of China.
Since 1997, Taipei’s annual attempts at observer status have been thwarted by Beijing, which says Taiwan has no right to join the organization — as a member, quasi-member or observer.
Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Taiwan’s de facto ambassador in Washington, said last week that Taiwan expected the US to lead the push for observer status on its behalf at the WHO despite China’s persistent opposition.
This year, the annual WHA, the highest decision-making body of the WHO, will meet between Monday and Saturday next week. The 192 member countries meet once a year to agree on policies and appoint a director-general.
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
‘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
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
RSS