Since Taiwan's application for full membership of the WHO was denied on May 14, a number of Taiwan-based commentators have been very quick to throw up their arms in incredulity and righteous indignation. Questions have been asked and opinions voiced, all of which lead to the collective conclusion that the organization has made a big mistake.
The general consensus is that the WHO and the world at large has been fooled or bullied, or possibly both, by the Chinese authorities.
China has declared that, through its memorandum of understanding signed with the WHO, it has promised to look after Taiwan. Wide-eyed and incredulous pundits wonder how the world can believe that China will look after an island it looks upon as a troublesome renegade province when it can't even look after its own people. They also question how the WHO, a supposedly non-political organization, can make such an obviously politically motivated decision.
The final question raised against the decision concerns the fact that, by denying Taiwan membership in the organization, it is made into a blind spot on the world's health radar screen. It is a blind spot that, in this era of easy international travel, the world can ill afford.
So why were these decisions made? How have governments once again been duped into believing that China cares about the health and well-being of Taiwanese citizens? The simple fact is that they haven't. While governments around the world might publicly claim otherwise, they are very much aware that Beijing will not do anything to help Taiwanese doctors fight disease. They know this very well, they just don't care too much.
In a perfect world, Taiwan would be welcomed into the WHO with open arms. This, though, is not a perfect world and standing right at the center of many of these imperfections is China.
Whether it is with international trade, counterfeiting, in negotiations with North Korea to avert a war when the US military is already overstretched, whether indeed it is with becoming more responsible about reporting health scares in its own country, the world needs China to play ball right now.
These are simple and undeniable facts. Why anger this irritable country for the sake of the health care of 23 million people, people who already receive excellent medical care anyway?
This is the question that the world powers would have asked themselves long before they voted on Taiwan's application.
The answer would have been pretty simple -- they're not going to.
China is a world superpower in the making, a power that can work with the developed world, or against it.
Right now, the world needs China's influence in North Korea. This maverick nuclear state, which has repeatedly threatened military action against Japan and the US, is a serious threat to world peace. China is the one country with the necessary influence in Pyongyang to stop that from happening.
Then there is trade. Trade with, and investment in China not only serves to make money for corporations in developed countries, but also binds China to those countries and therefore plays a major role in preventing the advent of another cold war.
This is why the decision to bar Taiwan was, and had to be, political. Even when it comes to leaving blind spots on the world's health radar screens, it still pays to play up to Beijing. China is a country of 1.3 billion people, many of whom receive little health care. The Chinese government is notoriously lax in its reporting of health crises to the international authorities. In terms of fighting world health epidemics, it is far more important that the Chinese work more closely with the WHO than that Taiwan be included in the organization.
It is very important to note, however, that it is not possible to have both.
To the people who would whine at this and ask: "why not?" it is about time they grew up and faced the facts. However wrong or unjust they might consider it to be, this is the world we live in and they had better get used to it.
While Taiwan must keep applying for membership to the WHO -- if only to keep the nation's plight on the world stage -- we have to understand that, unless there is a seismic shift in global policy, these bids are doomed to fail.
As commentators in Taiwan must be aware and should keep in mind when writing for newspapers, when it comes to world politics, Taiwan is a pawn that will be sacrificed time and time again.
Andrew Crosthwaite
Dalin, Chiayi
Taiwan is right to denounce China's territorial assertions at the WHO. As proclaimed in a statement by the Taiwanese Department of Health: "China has no territorial authority over Taiwan."
Nothing could be more true. As we know, in 1895 Taiwan was ceded to Japan by the Qing Dynasty.
At the close of fighting in World War II, US Douglas General MacArthur directed Chiang Kai-shek to come to Taiwan to accept the surrender of Japanese troops.
None of the Allies recognized any transfer of sovereignty of Taiwan from Japan to China at the Oct. 25, 1945 date of the surrender ceremonies.
In the post war San Francisco Peace Treaty of April 28, 1952, Japan renounced the sovereignty of Taiwan, but no "receiving country" was designated. The Aug. 5, 1952, Treaty of Taipei confirmed these arrangements.
Today, Beijing likes to tell the world community that it now holds sovereign rights on Taiwan based on the "successor government principle." However, upon close analysis, this argument quickly falls apart, because the Republic of China (ROC) never exercised sovereign rights over Taiwan in the first place.
It is very important that Taiwanese stand up and make clear the facts of the matter: China -- ROC or Beijing -- has no territorial authority over Taiwan.
Roger Lin
Taipei
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