The secretary-general of the World Medical Association (WMA), a confederation of more than 100 national medical associations, yesterday called on the WHO to end its continued exclusion of Taiwan.
During a keynote speech at this year’s NGO Leaders Forum in Taipei, WMA secretary-general Otmar Kloiber said his non-governmental organization (NGO) had long supported Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO and participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s annual decisionmaking meeting.
Due to its advocacy on Taiwan’s behalf, the WHO has threatened to revoke the WMA’s membership in the multilateral body, Kloiber said, adding that WMA observers with Taiwanese passports had been routinely denied entry to UN premises since 2017.
Photo: Ann Wang, Reuters
He said such “ridiculous” actions hurt not just the WMA, but also the WHO itself by forgoing the benefits of power, experience and humanitarian help from Taiwan.
“We see ourselves as advocates for healthcare everywhere, and the meaningful participation of knowledge is something which we believe is absolutely necessary to have complete inclusion,” Kloiber said. “And we hope that we can make a difference and get a reconsideration by the World Health Organization to have finally Taiwan included and participating in a very meaningful way.”
Taiwanese representatives were expelled from the WHO in 1972, one year after the People’s Republic of China was recognized as the sole representative of China by the UN.
During the administration of former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) from 2009 to 2016, Taiwanese delegates, participating under the name Chinese Taipei, were granted observer status at the WHA.
Since then Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA due to opposition from China.
The NGO Leaders Forum was opened with remarks from Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Alexander Yui, who said that it was the third consecutive year that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had hosted an international forum to facilitate dialogue between the government and NGOs from Taiwan and abroad.
More than 600 participants from NGOs, government officials, business representatives and other guests had already taken part in this “meaningful event,” Yui said.
This year’s forum focused on the challenges and opportunities for a Taiwanese public-private partnership promoting peace and justice in global governance.
GEARING UP: An invasion would be difficult and would strain China’s forces, but it has conducted large-scale training supporting an invasion scenario, the report said China increased its military pressure on Taiwan last year and took other steps in preparation for a potential invasion, an annual report published by the US Department of Defense on Wednesday showed. “Throughout 2023, Beijing continued to erode longstanding norms in and around Taiwan by employing a range of pressure tactics against Taiwan,” the report said, which is titled “Military and Security Developments Involving the People’s Republic of China (PRC) 2024.” The Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) “is preparing for a contingency to unify Taiwan with the PRC by force, if perceived as necessary by Beijing, while simultaneously deterring, delaying or denying
PEACEFUL RESOLUTION: A statement issued following a meeting between Australia and Britain reiterated support for Taiwan and opposition to change in the Taiwan Strait Canada should support the peaceful resolution of Taiwan’s destiny according to the will of Taiwanese, Canadian lawmakers said in a resolution marking the second anniversary of that nation’s Indo-Pacific strategy on Monday. The Canadian House of Commons committee on Canada-Chinese relations made the comment as part of 34 recommendations for the new edition of the strategy, adding that Ottawa should back Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations. Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy, first published in October 2022, emphasized that the region’s security, trade, human rights, democracy and environmental protection would play a crucial role in shaping Canada’s future. The strategy called for Canada to deepen
QUICK LOOK: The amendments include stricter recall requirements and Constitutional Court procedures, as well as a big increase in local governments’ budgets Portions of controversial amendments to tighten requirements for recalling officials and Constitutional Court procedures were passed by opposition lawmakers yesterday following clashes between lawmakers in the morning, as Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) members tried to block Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators from entering the chamber. Parts of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法) and Constitutional Court Procedure Act (憲法訴訟法) passed the third reading yesterday. The legislature was still voting on various amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) as of press time last night, after the session was extended to midnight. Amendments to Article 4
‘ONE BRIDGE’: The US president-elect met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 in Florida and the two discussed a potential Taiwan-China conflict’s implications for world peace US president-elect Donald Trump has described Taiwan as “a major issue for world peace” during a meeting with Akie Abe, the widow of late Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe, Japanese newspaper the Yomiuri Shimbun quoted sources as saying in a report yesterday. Trump met with Akie Abe on Dec. 15 at the Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida, where the two discussed the Russo-Ukrainian war and the situation in the Taiwan Strait. During the meeting, Trump spoke on the implications for world peace of a potential Taiwan-China conflict, which “indicated his administration’s stance of placing importance on dealing with the situation in
RSS