The 77th annual World Health Assembly (WHA), the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is taking place from today until Saturday in Geneva, Switzerland, but Taiwan has not received an invitation to attend as an observer for the eighth year in a row.
The nation from 2009 to 2016 was an observer to the WHA, under the name “Chinese Taipei,” during the presidency of Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), who signed trade agreements with China.
Since former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took office in 2016, Beijing has ramped up diplomatic and military pressure against Taiwan by cutting off official dialogue with Taipei, blocking the nation’s attempts to participate in UN-affiliated organizations and poaching its diplomatic allies.
Beijing aims to isolate Taiwan and force it to accept China’s claims.
The “WHA Action Team,” a delegation of officials and medical experts led by Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源), on Friday set off to Geneva to demonstrate Taiwan’s capability and determination to contribute to global health.
The delegation plans to hold bilateral talks with friendly countries, organize news conferences and forums to promote Taiwan’s healthcare, and would submit a letter of protest to the WHO if the efforts turn out to be fruitless, Chiu said.
China’s suppression is the sole reason Taiwan has again not been invited to the WHA, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said, adding that health is a human right that should not be politicized.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on May 1 said in a statement that “the United States strongly encourages the WHO to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at this year’s WHA so the world may once again benefit from Taiwan’s expertise and experience.”
On Friday, the US, Australia, the UK, Canada, the Czech Republic, Germany, Japan and Lithuania’s de facto embassies in Taipei issued a joint statement, reaffirming their support for “Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the work of the WHO and Taiwan’s participation as an observer in the WHA.”
The joint statement underlined Taiwan’s distinct capabilities and methods in public health, as well as its democratic governance and advanced technology.
Isolating Taiwan from the assembly undermines the WHO’s commitment to an inclusive “health for all” approach, it added.
In response, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) on Friday used UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to claim that “Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory” and should not participate in the WHA.
Since 2016, “the DPP has refused to recognize the ‘1992 consensus,’ which embodies the ‘one China’ principle, and has been hellbent on the separatist stance of ‘Taiwan independence,’” Wang said, showing that politics, not global health, is China’s main priority.
However, the UN Resolution 2758 passed in 1971 only recognized that “the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] are the only lawful representatives of China to the UN.”
It did not mention the representation of Taiwan and its people in the UN, or state that Taiwan is part of the PRC.
Despite statements of support, it is unlikely that Taiwan would be able to join this year’s assembly, but the nation should keep calm and continue demonstrating goodwill and building friendships through active participation in technical meetings, and direct cooperation with allies and like-minded partners to gain international recognition and support steadily, year by year.
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