China and the World Health Organization (WHO) are working on a Memorandum of Under-standing (MOU) on how to facilitate exchanges between Taiwan and WHO, but the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday it will never accept the deal if the MOU denigrates the country's sovereign status.
With the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO's top decision-making body, slated to open in Geneva next Monday, the ministry produced a copy of a diplomatic note that China's permanent mission to the UN Office in Geneva (UNOG) distributed to all foreign missions in the city illustrating its stance on Taiwan's bid to enter the WHO.
Missions of Taiwan's diplomatic allies in Geneva also obtained the diplomatic notes, dated May 5.
One of the missions showed Taiwanese diplomats the note, which argues it is illegitimate for Taiwan to seek observership in the WHA. Taiwan will send its 9th application for observer status in the WHA, which will run from next Monday to May 25.
"At present, the Chinese Government is consulting with the WHO Secretariat on a Memorandum of Understanding in order to facilitate technical exchanges between Taiwan and WHO," the note said.
The MOU "proves that Taiwan has open access to health information and technical assistance from the WHO. Therefore, the reason to table a Taiwan-related proposal are completely on untenable grounds," the note added.
However, Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂), who called a press conference to unveil the note, said that according to information the ministry gathered, Taiwan will be designated as "Taiwan, China" in the MOU.
MOFA has told the WHO Secretariat that a MOU, arranged without Taiwan's agreement and meant to degrade the country's status, is unacceptable, Kau said.
Denis Aitken, assistant director-general of the WHO, confirmed Wednesday that the WHO has been discussing with China on forming a mechanism for Taiwan to take part in WHO activities on the technical level, according to the Central News Agency.
Moreover, the Chinese diplomatic note, in stating "the position of the Chinese government," said "the Taiwan authority has instigated a few countries with which it has `diplomatic relations' to table Taiwan related proposals" in the WHA every year since 1997.
"The Chinese Government has been firmly opposed to including any such proposal in the WHA agenda," the note said, adding that at last year's WHA, the Chinese delegation presented a four-point proposal for dealing with Taiwan in the WHO.
The note said since then, "the Chinese Government has adopted a series of policies and measures" to implement the four-point proposal. One of the points explains how China would help Taiwanese medical professionals to participate in WHO technical exchanges.
Kau blasted Chinese political figures for lying to the international society about Beijing's "goodwill" to help Taiwan join the WHO and said the diplomatic note betrayed China's true position on Taiwan's health bid.
He presented a "No Progress Report" the ministry made on Taiwan's technical interactions with the WHO since March 14, 2003, when the country reported its first SARS case to the WHO.
The report, which was subtitled "too little, too limited and too late," said Taiwan contacted the WHO 22 times since March 2003 requesting that it take part in its meetings and activities.
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