Over 20 diplomatic allies have written to Secretary-General of the UN Kofi Annan to urge him to back Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO) amid continued support by the foreign press.
In a letter entitled "Collaboration between WHO and Taiwan in the fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), 21 countries' representatives at the UN have written a joint letter to urge Annan to support Taiwan's WHO bid.
"We call on the secretary general of the UN to use his good offices with the director-general of the World Health Organization to consider, as a matter of emergency, to extend an invitation to Taiwan to take part in the World Health Assembly as a Health Entity," according to a copy of the letter obtained by the Taipei Times.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The assembly is the WHO's top decision-making body and is scheduled to convene in Geneva starting on May 19.
At a time when SARS remains a serious issue, it's time for Taiwan and the WHO to work together in the fight against the disease, the letter said.
The note urged the WHO to "abide by its founding goal of providing health for all humankind and thus, include Taiwan into the Global Outbreak and Alert Response Network" so that Taiwan can share SARS-related information and experiences with other countries.
The letter said the flu-like disease "knows no political boundaries" nor "ideological dictates," and it is "regrettable" that WHO has turned its back against Taipei's WHO bid since 1997 out of political considerations.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
China's power has dissuaded many countries to express their support for Taiwan's WHO bid, Chien said.
The Asian Wall Street Journal and the Nikkei Shinbun in their respective editorials yesterday urged the world to support Taiwan's bid.
"The US and Japan have supported Taiwan's past applications to join the WHO, but they have been blocked by France, Spain, Pakistan, Argentina and India, among others," the Journal's editorial entitled "Let Taiwan into the WHO" said.
"These countries' diplomats should be ashamed of playing Beijing's political game at the expense of the world's health. Because of them, the WHO hasn't lived up to its charter, which sets as its objective the attainment by all peoples of the world the highest possible level of health," the editorial said. "It's time to stop letting Beijing block that noble ideal."
The Nikkei Shinbun's editorial said it's time to put aside the political disputes to support Taiwan's bid to join the assembly as an observer.
Meanwhile, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat said the group has set June 28 as the tentative date for its health ministers to discuss SARS-related matters in Bangkok.
APEC trade ministers will meet in Bangkok on June 1 to discuss measures help counter the ongoing economic impact of SARS on the region, the APEC Secretariat said.
Taiwan as a member of APEC will dispatch pertinent ministers to attend the two meetings, a foreign ministry official said. APEC is the only intergovernmental meeting that Taiwan is able to attend to discuss SARS-related issues.
Meanwhile, the US on Tuesday warned Americans to consider postponing all non-essential travel to Taiwan because of the outbreak of SARS.
"As a precautionary measure, the American Institute of Taiwan has cautioned against all non-essential travel to Taiwan," the US State Department said in a statement, adding that the AIT had based its decision on advice from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC).
The USCDC lifted its warning against travel to Singapore because it's been 20 days since the last case contracted outside hospitals or the homes of other patients, CDC Director Julie Gerberding told reporters.
CDC advisories remain in effect against travel to China, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Gerberding said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique