It is “deeply regrettable” that Taiwan has not been invited to attend this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The deadline for registering for the WHA — the annual meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO — was Monday. The 77th WHA runs from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Taiwan could not meet the deadline because as it is not a UN member, it required an invitation, which was not sent for the eighth consecutive year.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Montreal via CNA
In a report to be presented to lawmakers at a committee hearing today, the ministry called on the WHO to “face squarely” Taiwan’s professional contributions in the field of global health, and argued that Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO posed a global health risk.
The decision not to invite Taiwan to the WHA, which the government has repeatedly protested, not only disregards the rights of the 23.5 million people of Taiwan, but also the health and welfare of all of humanity, the report says.
Despite the lack of an invitation to the WHA, minister of health and welfare-designate Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) is to lead a delegation to Geneva to attend events to promote Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA, in line with previous practice, the ministry said.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) is also to lead a legislative delegation to Geneva for the same purpose, it said.
Taiwan left the WHO in 1972 after the UN expelled the nation and recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only “legitimate representative of China.”
Since then, Taiwan has been unable to attend the WHA even as an observer due to Chinese pressure, except from 2009 to 2016 during the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
On Monday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told reporters in Beijing that China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, and that Taiwan’s participation in the WHA “must be handled under the one China principle.”
“China’s Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the WHA,” Wang said.
Asked to comment on the remarks, MOFA spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) yesterday said that China has no right to interfere with Taiwan’s diplomacy and international participation.
“Taiwan has never been part of the PRC,” Liu said. “This is an objective fact and an internationally recognized status quo.”
It is Taiwan’s right to participate in international organizations, he said.
The decision does not rely on Beijing’s goodwill or need its consent, he added.
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