The severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic has spread rapidly across the world. In the face of the rampant spread of the disease, the Chinese government has not only failed to effectively control the outbreak, but has also intentionally concealed the true situation. It has even obstructed the World Health Organization's (WHO) team from investigating the situation.
Taiwan, on the other hand, immediately informed the WHO and called for help when the disease was first reported here. But the WHO made no response -- completely ignoring the rights and interests of Taiwanese.
The nation's efforts to become an official WHO member or observer have been undermined by China. Last year, China's Minister of Health Zhang Wenkang (張文康) even claimed at a WHO assembly meeting that China can assist Taiwan in health and medical matters. In addition, Beijing has repeatedly claimed that it's taking good care of the health of the Taiwanese people, and it's therefore unnecessary for Taiwan to become a WHO member -- since Beijing already represents us in the organization.
There are obvious discrepancies between these Chinese statements and the real situation. This is proved by a statement made by a WHO official to media in Geneva on March 17, explaining that the WHO was aware of two or three cases of SARS being found in Taiwan. At the same time, the WHO was negotiating with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to have it send specialists to Taiwan to help.
In future, the WHO will continue to cooperate with the CDC to search for and understand the development of the SARS epidemic in Taiwan.
These statements make it abundantly clear that the WHO has not provided Taiwan with any assistance through China, thus exposing as a lie Beijing's statement that China is caring for the health of the people of Taiwan. Blind to these facts, the WHO continues to list Taiwan under the name "China (Taiwan)" in its list of infected areas, thereby treating the nation as a province of China.
When dealing with the health and safety of its own people, domineering China has concealed the situation of the epidemic, which has led to its being spread around the world. When it comes to Taiwan, it places politics above all else, leaving Taiwan outside the WHO and disregarding the health and human rights of the Taiwanese.
John Wang is a TSU lawmaker.
Translated by Eddy Chang and Perry Svensson
Having lived through former British prime minister Boris Johnson’s tumultuous and scandal-ridden administration, the last place I had expected to come face-to-face with “Mr Brexit” was in a hotel ballroom in Taipei. Should I have been so surprised? Over the past few years, Taiwan has unfortunately become the destination of choice for washed-up Western politicians to turn up long after their political careers have ended, making grandiose speeches in exchange for extraordinarily large paychecks far exceeding the annual salary of all but the wealthiest of Taiwan’s business tycoons. Taiwan’s pursuit of bygone politicians with little to no influence in their home
In a recent essay, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” a former adviser to US President Donald Trump, Christian Whiton, accuses Taiwan of diplomatic incompetence — claiming Taipei failed to reach out to Trump, botched trade negotiations and mishandled its defense posture. Whiton’s narrative overlooks a fundamental truth: Taiwan was never in a position to “win” Trump’s favor in the first place. The playing field was asymmetrical from the outset, dominated by a transactional US president on one side and the looming threat of Chinese coercion on the other. From the outset of his second term, which began in January, Trump reaffirmed his
It is difficult not to agree with a few points stated by Christian Whiton in his article, “How Taiwan Lost Trump,” and yet the main idea is flawed. I am a Polish journalist who considers Taiwan her second home. I am conservative, and I might disagree with some social changes being promoted in Taiwan right now, especially the push for progressiveness backed by leftists from the West — we need to clean up our mess before blaming the Taiwanese. However, I would never think that those issues should dominate the West’s judgement of Taiwan’s geopolitical importance. The question is not whether
In 2025, it is easy to believe that Taiwan has always played a central role in various assessments of global national interests. But that is a mistaken belief. Taiwan’s position in the world and the international support it presently enjoys are relatively new and remain highly vulnerable to challenges from China. In the early 2000s, the George W. Bush Administration had plans to elevate bilateral relations and to boost Taiwan’s defense. It designated Taiwan as a non-NATO ally, and in 2001 made available to Taiwan a significant package of arms to enhance the island’s defenses including the submarines it long sought.
RSS