Taiwan has finally got something it has been trying to get for a long time — the right to take part in the World Health Assembly (WHA). Having achieved something the preceding Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government could not, President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) administration announced the development with an air of triumph.
While this may be good news for the government, the opposition has raised a number of questions. Was observer status awarded to Taiwan because of a secret memorandum of understanding (MOU) between China and the WHO? What conditions did the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) agree on in the course of their secret negotiations with the WHO? What exactly is Taiwan’s status in the WHA and in regard to the International Health Regulations (IHR)?
But the main concern for the DPP is this: Did Taiwan have to sacrifice its sovereignty to join the WHA?
The Ma team’s response has, of course, been “no.”
They say the important thing is to take part, and the negotiating process is nothing to be concerned about. The government claims the negotiations could not be made public because this is the “usual international practice.”
They assure us that Taiwan’s status in the WHA will be the same as other observers, who also receive invitations to the annual assemblies.
As Ma’s team combines conceit with an air of mystery, China is being intentionally low key, which only serves to fuel doubts in the DPP. But the misgivings of opposition politicians can be dispelled quite easily.
The WHA is attended by a number of observers every year. Contrary to what the Ma team claims, however, they do not all have the same status. In fact, their status differs considerably.
In the first category are governments with some level of sovereignty. The Holy See is a country but not a member country of the WHO. The Order of Malta was made a permanent observer by a resolution of the assembly, and it enjoys sovereign status.
The other kind of observer includes the International Committee of the Red Cross, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies and the Inter-Parliamentary Union, which are all NGOs. Then there is the Palestinian Authority, whose status falls somewhere between the two categories.
During emergencies such as the SARS and enterovirus outbreaks, the WHO got a lot of help from the US, whose Centers for Disease Control have greater resources than the WHO does. Taiwan’s healthcare system, like that in the US, is solidly established and well resourced. That being the case, Taiwan does not need much help in disease prevention.
So the main reason we want to attend the WHA and join the WHO is to promote the definition of Taiwan’s international status.
If Taiwan were to seek the same status as the Holy See, China would naturally intervene and block this from happening. On the other hand, joining as an NGO would negate Taiwan’s sovereignty.
Taking part under such conditions would be more damaging to our sovereignty than not participating. At the least, what Taiwan should strive for, as with the Palestinian Authority, is to be invited to take part by a resolution of the assembly, and not to be invited to attend as an NGO each year by the WHO director-general, whom China controls.
It would be worse still if Taiwan were listed not just as an NGO, but as a Chinese one.
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