The attachment of UN Resolution No. 2758 on Taiwan’s invitation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) is WHO Director-General Margaret Chan’s (陳馮富珍) attempt to turn the organization into “China’s WHO,” Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan executive director Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) said yesterday.
The WHO on Friday issued Taiwan an invitation to attend a May 23 meeting in Geneva. Unlike previous WHA invitations, it mentioned UN Resolution No. 2758, which was passed on Oct. 25, 1971, recognizing the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as “the only legitimate representative of China to the UN” and expelling representatives from the Republic of China (ROC).
Chan’s attempt leads to the to loss of the WHO’s neutrality, something that would not be permitted by other nations, Lin said.
Meanwhile, Taiwan Medical Professionals Alliance chairman Wu Shuh-min (吳樹民) yesterday said it would be better for the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government not to participate in the WHA rather than attend under the “one China” principle.
By choosing not to attend this year’s WHA, Taiwan can protest the WHO as well, Wu said.
Adding that it is “very odd” for the WHO to cite the “one China” principle on its invitation to Taiwan, Wu said the WHO, being an international organization, ought to be in service to all nations rather than submit to China’s control.
“Maybe future health minister Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) could clarify the position of ‘one China, one Taiwan’ during his attendance of the WHA meeting,” Wu said.
If he cannot clarify the position, then the DPP government should not attend the meeting, Wu added.
Honor guards are to stop performing changing of the guard ceremonies around a statue of Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石) to avoid “worshiping authoritarianism,” the Ministry of Culture said yesterday. The fate of the bronze statue has long been the subject of fierce and polarizing debate in Taiwan, which has transformed from an autocracy under Chiang into one of Asia’s most vibrant democracies. The changing of the guard each hour at the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei is a major tourist attraction, but starting from 9am on Monday, the ceremony is to be moved outdoors to Democracy Boulevard, outside the eponymous blue-and-white memorial
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) supports peaceful unification with China, and President William Lai (賴清德) is “a bit naive” for being a “practical worker for Taiwanese independence,” former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said in an interview published yesterday. Asked about whether the KMT is on the same page as the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on the issue of Taiwanese independence or unification with China, Ma told the Malaysian Chinese-language newspaper Sin Chew Daily that they are not. While the KMT supports peaceful unification and is against unification by force, the DPP opposes unification as such and
The government would cancel kendo practitioner Su Yu-cheng’s (蘇郁程) nationality if he is confirmed to have represented China in the World Kendo Championships in Milan, Italy, last week, the Mainland Affairs Council said yesterday. “We have consulted the Sports Administration and were told that athletes participating in the championships must have the nationality of the country that they represent. They must also present their passports as proof,” council spokesperson Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) told a weekly news conference. “If Su indeed represented China in the championships, we suspect that he has obtained Chinese nationality.” The Act Governing Relations Between the People of the
FATAL ILLNESS: Untreated symptoms can rapidly worsen to complications such as high fever, seizures and loss of consciousness, and can be life-threatening, a doctor said Hospitals have been reporting dozens of people with heat-related illnesses every day over the past week, given continuous high daytime temperatures, so recognizing the early signs of heatstroke is crucial in preventing serious complications, a Taipei City Hospital emergency physician said. The Central Weather Administration yesterday issued a heat alert for 19 cities and counties across Taiwan, with temperatures in New Taipei City, Miaoli County and Pingtung County likely to exceed 38°C, and temperatures in 12 cities and counties likely to exceed 36°C for three days straight. More than a dozen people were taken to hospitals for heat-related illnesses every day from