The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed “deep regret and dissatisfaction” that Taiwan had yet to receive an invitation to the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA), which is set to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, in three days.
“We find it deeply regrettable that the WHO has once again failed to remain professional and politically neutral to extend an invitation to Taiwan,” ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) told a news conference in Taipei.
The WHO has disregarded the widespread international support for Taiwan’s participation as an observer in the organization’s decisionmaking body, which is necessary and urgent, in view of the COVID-19 pandemic, she said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
The upcoming assembly, which runs from Sunday to Saturday next week, would be the first in-person WHA since the start of the pandemic.
Ou said that 13 of the nation’s diplomatic allies that are WHO members had sent a proposal to the WHO Secretariat to include a discussion on the nation’s possible inclusion in this year’s assembly as a supplementary item.
Related discussions over the matter are to be held during the session, she added.
Regardless of whether Taiwan is invited to attend this year’s WHA, Deputy Minister of Health and Welfare Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) and other government officials would travel to Geneva to share Taiwan’s healthcare experience on the sidelines of the annual event, as Taiwan has done in the past, she said.
Ou said it is unlikely at this point that Taiwan would receive an invite before the event starts.
“Apparently, the WHO has no intention of giving a response on the widespread international support for Taiwan,” she said.
The Republic of China was expelled from the WHO in 1972, one year after losing its seat in the UN. It was able to send delegations to participate in the WHA as an observer under the designation “Chinese Taipei” from 2009 to 2016, when relations between Beijing and Taipei were warmer during the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
Since 2017, Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA due to opposition from China, which has taken a hard line against President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her Democratic Progressive Party.
On Wednesday, the US urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to the annual assembly, saying that the pandemic requires universal cooperation.
“We strongly advocate for the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer [in the WHA] and lend its expertise to the solution-seeking discussions,” US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a statement.
As the world continues to fight COVID-19 and other emerging health threats, “Taiwan’s isolation from the pre-eminent global health forum is unwarranted and undermines inclusive global public health cooperation,” he added. “We will continue to support Taiwan’s membership in international organizations where statehood is not a requirement.”
More than 1,500 lawmakers from 34 countries, including members of the European Formosa Club, on Wednesday jointly signed a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in support of Taiwan attending the WHA, and participating in activities and meetings hosted by WHO.
Additional reporting by AFP
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique