The European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT) has urged authorities in Europe and globally to grant Taiwan observer status in the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), saying that the nation’s meaningful participation is crucial to fighting an ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The chamber has consistently called for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, and the rapid spread of the 2019 novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) in China to multiple nations, including Taiwan, renders the plea especially urgent, said the foreign trade group, which represents more than 900 members from 400 companies and organizations.
“Keeping Taiwan out during the outbreak of 2019-nCoV, which has been declared a public health emergency of international concern, puts Taiwan and the world at risk and cannot be justified for any reason,” ECCT chairman Giuseppe Izzo said in a statement on Thursday.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO and World Health Assembly (WHA) activities leaves a serious gap in global efforts to address global health concerns, he said.
Allowing Taiwan to participate in the WHO and ICAO as an observer would ensure that Taiwan does not remain a blind spot in the battle against the epidemic and future global health crises, he added.
Participation in both organizations is especially crucial in a global health crisis, such as the coronavirus, which is spreading from person to person and is exacerbated by global air travel, Izzo said.
In a world where disease knows no borders, Taiwan has much to offer the world in enhancing global efforts to safeguard human health, the chamber said.
“Excluding Taiwan from the WHO and WHA denies Taiwanese access to essential global health information and resources, and ignores the potential contribution Taiwan can make to the WHO, given its excellent healthcare system and medical expertise,” Izzo said.
Participation in WHO and WHA meetings is necessary for Taiwanese authorities to give and receive frequent and comprehensive briefings on global health matters, while participation in ICAO is necessary to stay abreast of developments in international aviation, safety and security, the chamber said.
European firms collectively comprise the largest group of foreign investors in Taiwan, with more than US$55 billion in direct foreign investment.
The ECCT has been active in addressing specific concerns and keeps the European Commission and the European Parliament, as well as the governments of individual European countries, informed about Taiwan’s business environment.
SELL-OFF: Investors expect tariff-driven volatility as the local boarse reopens today, while analysts say government support and solid fundamentals would steady sentiment Local investors are bracing for a sharp market downturn today as the nation’s financial markets resume trading following a two-day closure for national holidays before the weekend, with sentiment rattled by US President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariff announcement. Trump’s unveiling of new “reciprocal tariffs” on Wednesday triggered a sell-off in global markets, with the FTSE Taiwan Index Futures — a benchmark for Taiwanese equities traded in Singapore — tumbling 9.2 percent over the past two sessions. Meanwhile, the American depositary receipts (ADRs) of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), the most heavily weighted stock on the TAIEX, plunged 13.8 percent in
A wave of stop-loss selling and panic selling hit Taiwan's stock market at its opening today, with the weighted index plunging 2,086 points — a drop of more than 9.7 percent — marking the largest intraday point and percentage loss on record. The index bottomed out at 19,212.02, while futures were locked limit-down, with more than 1,000 stocks hitting their daily drop limit. Three heavyweight stocks — Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (Foxconn, 鴻海精密) and MediaTek (聯發科) — hit their limit-down prices as soon as the market opened, falling to NT$848 (US$25.54), NT$138.5 and NT$1,295 respectively. TSMC's
ASML Holding NV, the sole producer of the most advanced machines used in semiconductor manufacturing, said geopolitical tensions are harming innovation a day after US President Donald Trump levied massive tariffs that promise to disrupt trade flows across the entire world. “Our industry has been built basically on the ability of people to work together, to innovate together,” ASML chief executive officer Christophe Fouquet said in a recorded message at a Thursday industry event in the Netherlands. Export controls and increasing geopolitical tensions challenge that collaboration, he said, without specifically addressing the new US tariffs. Tech executives in the EU, which is
In a small town in Paraguay, a showdown is brewing between traditional producers of yerba mate, a bitter herbal tea popular across South America, and miners of a shinier treasure: gold. A rush for the precious metal is pitting mate growers and indigenous groups against the expanding operations of small-scale miners who, until recently, were their neighbors, not nemeses. “They [the miners] have destroyed everything... The canals, springs, swamps,” said Vidal Britez, president of the Yerba Mate Producers’ Association of the town of Paso Yobai, about 210km east of capital Asuncion. “You can see the pollution from the dead fish.