China and the World Health Organization (WHO) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) "facilitating" technical exchanges between Taiwan and the WHO on Saturday, but Taiwanese officials dismissed the agreement as "unacceptable."
It is understood that the Chinese delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO's highest decision-making body, visited WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook and signed the MOU on Saturday afternoon.
Taiwan will launch its ninth bid for observer status in the WHA, which opens today and will run until May 25.
The WHO confirmed Taiwan is designated as "Taiwan, China" in the MOU, which regulates that Taiwan's technical exchanges with the WHO can only be arranged through Beijing.
Taiwanese officials working on the WHO bid in Geneva are trying to understand details of the MOU and evaluate how the agreement, signed only two days prior to the opening of the WHA, will affect Taiwan's application for observership.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will never accept the MOU if the pact encroaches on Taiwan's sovereignty or denigrates its national status.
The WHO and China showed no respect for Taiwan in the manner they reached the agreement, said Peter Chang (張武修), director-general of the Department of Health's Bureau of International Cooperation.
"China has no power whatsoever over Taiwan's health matters," Chang said.
"China and the WHO Secretariat have been secretly working on the MOU. Many countries have no idea why they were doing that," he said.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Chu Feng-chih (朱鳳芝), in Geneva for Taiwan's health bid, said Beijing has disappointed her.
Chu, who traveled with KMT Vice Chairman Chiang Pin-kun (
Beijing repeated its "goodwill" towards Taiwan's bid when People First Party (PFP) Chairman James Soong (
Several senior Chinese officials, including Jia Qinglin (賈慶林), chairman of China's People's Political Consultative Conference, promised the KMT delegation that Beijing's diplomats to discuss with WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook about how to let Taiwan participate in the health body, Chu said.
"But being here in Geneva, we see absolutely no sign of China's goodwill. Its promise to help Taiwan join the WHO is merely words. If China really cares about the Taiwanese people's health, it should show its concern through actions," the legislator said.
"What we see here is that China is blocking our WHO bid in all aspects. We feel very disappointed and find it hard to trust China," Chu said before a dinner with more than 80 leaders of overseas Taiwanese businessgroups, who gathered in Geneva to back Taiwan's bid for entrance into the WHO.
It would be difficult for Taiwan and China to reach peace if they lack mutual trust, Chu said.
"We Taiwanese are not fools. If China really cares about us, it should let us join the WHO as an observer right now," she said.
Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chuang Suo-han (莊碩漢) said in Geneva that many people thought Taiwan might have a better chance to enter the WHO after Lien and Soong's trips to China. "But the reality shows us this is not so," he said.
also see story:
MOU poses a threat to WHO bid, officials say
NEXT GENERATION: The four plants in the Central Taiwan Science Park, designated Fab 25, would consist of four 1.4-nanometer wafer manufacturing plants, TSMC said Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) plans to begin construction of four new plants later this year, with the aim to officially launch production of 2-nanometer semiconductor wafers by late 2028, Central Taiwan Science Park Bureau director-general Hsu Maw-shin (許茂新) said. Hsu made the announcement at an event on Friday evening celebrating the Central Taiwan Science Park’s 22nd anniversary. The second phase of the park’s expansion would commence with the initial construction of water detention ponds and other structures aimed at soil and water conservation, Hsu said. TSMC has officially leased the land, with the Central Taiwan Science Park having handed over the
AUKUS: The Australian Ambassador to the US said his country is working with the Pentagon and he is confident that submarine issues will be resolved Australian Ambassador to the US Kevin Rudd on Friday said that if Taiwan were to fall to China’s occupation, it would unleash China’s military capacities and capabilities more broadly. He also said his country is working with the Pentagon on the US Department of Defense’s review of the AUKUS submarine project and is confident that all issues raised will be resolved. Rudd, who served as Australian prime minister from 2007 to 2010 and for three months in 2013, made the remarks at the Aspen Security Forum in Colorado and stressed the longstanding US-Australia alliance and his close relationship with the US Undersecretary
‘WORLD WAR III’: Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene said the aid would inflame tensions, but her amendment was rejected 421 votes against six The US House of Representatives on Friday passed the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for fiscal 2026, which includes US$500 million for Taiwan. The bill, which totals US$831.5 billion in discretionary spending, passed in a 221-209 vote. According to the bill, the funds for Taiwan would be administered by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency and would remain available through Sept. 30, 2027, for the Taiwan Security Cooperation Initiative. The legislation authorizes the US Secretary of Defense, with the agreement of the US Secretary of State, to use the funds to assist Taiwan in procuring defense articles and services, and military training. Republican Representative
TAIWAN IS TAIWAN: US Representative Tom Tiffany said the amendment was not controversial, as ‘Taiwan is not — nor has it ever been — part of Communist China’ The US House of Representatives on Friday passed an amendment banning the US Department of Defense from creating, buying or displaying any map that shows Taiwan as part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The “Honest Maps” amendment was approved in a voice vote on Friday as part of the Department of Defense Appropriations Act for the 2026 fiscal year. The amendment prohibits using any funds from the act to create, buy or display maps that show Taiwan, Kinmen, Matsu, Penghu, Wuciou (烏坵), Green Island (綠島) or Orchid Island (Lanyu, 蘭嶼) as part of the PRC. The act includes US$831.5 billion in
RSS