CHINA CONSIDERS this a "fruitful" year in terms of diplomacy, not least because, as the China Daily put it on Thursday, it "defeated Taiwan's attempt to join the WHO for the eleventh time."
But the questions remain: Is it really fruitful to block 23 million Taiwanese from full access to the most recent and important health information coming from abroad?
Is it fruitful to limit cooperation between the WHO and Taiwan by keeping the country outside the Global Outbreak Alert Response Network when the first few days of a disease outbreak are crucial to preventing a pandemic?
The answer is obviously "no."
In an interdependent world facing global issues, a diplomacy defending mostly national and political interest at the expense of global common interest cannot be considered fruitful. This "zero sum game diplomacy" is used by several countries in areas like environment and health, but it is neither beneficial nor responsible.
Thinking in terms of common interests instead of egoist ones, the health diplomacy of Taiwan this year could be considered fruitful.
In response to the serious health threats of malaria, diarrhea and Rift Valley fever in Kenya, Taiwan in January sent its third health mission to help authorities control the diseases by providing spraying equipment, medicine, mosquito nets and laboratory expertise.
Aware of the urgent need to work globally, Taiwan in July reached a consensus with the International Medical Assistance Foundation on efforts to prevent and control major international diseases such as avian flu, malaria, Rift Valley fever, brain fever and AIDS. In August, two days after an earthquake measuring 8 on the Richter scale killed 450 people in Peru, Taiwan sent an emergency medical relief team to treat and care for the injured and to provide food and other materials to the victims.
In October, Taiwan bolstered its cooperation with six Pacific allies (Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Solomon Islands and Tuvalu) to improve medical service in the Pacific Ocean, notably by developing training exchange programs aimed at meeting the UN's Millennium Development Goals.
All of these examples of health diplomacy are fruitful in the sense that they're widely beneficial and work toward improving global health security. Nevertheless, this fruitfulness would be even greater and benefit even more people if Taiwan were able to fully participate in a global health that can ill afford to turn down a helping hand.
Vincent Rollet is a doctoral candidate in the Department of International Relations at the Institute of Political Science in Paris.
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong’s (李顯龍) decision to step down after 19 years and hand power to his deputy, Lawrence Wong (黃循財), on May 15 was expected — though, perhaps, not so soon. Most political analysts had been eyeing an end-of-year handover, to ensure more time for Wong to study and shadow the role, ahead of general elections that must be called by November next year. Wong — who is currently both deputy prime minister and minister of finance — would need a combination of fresh ideas, wisdom and experience as he writes the nation’s next chapter. The world that
The past few months have seen tremendous strides in India’s journey to develop a vibrant semiconductor and electronics ecosystem. The nation’s established prowess in information technology (IT) has earned it much-needed revenue and prestige across the globe. Now, through the convergence of engineering talent, supportive government policies, an expanding market and technologically adaptive entrepreneurship, India is striving to become part of global electronics and semiconductor supply chains. Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Vision of “Make in India” and “Design in India” has been the guiding force behind the government’s incentive schemes that span skilling, design, fabrication, assembly, testing and packaging, and
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.