Taiwan's first effort to obtain full WHO membership under the name "Taiwan" failed yesterday as the World Health Assembly (WHA) ruled out the inclusion of the bid as a supplementary agenda item.
Applying for membership in the WHO under the name of "Taiwan" was the latest approach after 10 failed bids to obtain observer status at the WHA, the WHO's highest decision-making body.
During a closed-door General Committee meeting that lasted for almost two hours, Paraguay and Gambia spoke on Taiwan's behalf and asked for Taiwan's membership application to be placed on the supplementary agenda. But Cuba and China opposed the proposal.
After the debate, chairwoman Jane Halton -- an Australian -- announced that "Item 5," which dealt with admitting new members, would be struck off the agenda.
The proposal to put Taiwan's bid on the agenda was made by 12 of the nation's diplomatic allies: Belize, Honduras, Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Nauru, Palau, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and Principe, the Solomon Islands, Swaziland and Tuvalu.
Gambian Minister of Health Tamsir Mbowe said in the meeting that Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO violated the body's Constitution, which calls for the "highest attainment of health for all people."
"We don't see any reason why Taiwan should not be included in the WHO," Mbowe said.
China and Cuba, however, argued that "Taiwan is part of China, and China has always looked after Taiwanese people's rights."
Japan and the US, which had both voiced support for Taiwan's WHA observership, kept silent.
Before the vote, two of the nation's allies, Belize and the Solomon Islands, opposed the exclusion of Taiwan's application from the provisional agenda, and they challenged the WHO Secretariat's authority to kill the application.
"The assembly is the only body that has the authority to accept or reject the application ... It's hypocritical to deny the health rights of the people living in Taiwan," the Solomon Islands delegate said.
Confronted by Taiwanese journalists at the door of the assembly hall prior to the assembly's opening ceremony, China's permanent representative to the UN Sha Zukang (沙祖康) said that it was up to the WHO Secretariat to rule on Taiwan's bid.
"Taiwan has the right to challenge the decision of the WHO Secretariat, but it has to follow UN regulations ... I personally have no right to make a decision," Sha said.
WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (
In response to President Chen Shui-bian's (
"We [China and Taiwan], on the other hand, are still fighting over the `one China' policy ... The situation is different," Sha said.
While voting against Taiwan's application, the US, Canada and Germany (on behalf of the EU) later called on the assembly to support Taiwan's participation in WHO-related technical meetings.
At a roundtable meeting, US Health and Human Services Secretary Mike Leavitt reiterated the US position of supporting Taiwan's "meaningful participation" in the WHO, rather than full membership.
"We do not support Taiwan's participation for membership," he said. "There is a virtue in having Taiwanese technical experts included in the discussions. But we don't support Taiwan's participation for membership."
Shouting "WHO, Taiwan Go, Go, Go!" and singing outside UN headquarters where the WHA was meeting, groups of Taiwanese who had traveled from the US, Europe and Taiwan gathered to support Taiwan's bid.
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
TRADE: A mandatory declaration of origin for manufactured goods bound for the US is to take effect on May 7 to block China from exploiting Taiwan’s trade channels All products manufactured in Taiwan and exported to the US must include a signed declaration of origin starting on May 7, the Bureau of Foreign Trade announced yesterday. US President Donald Trump on April 2 imposed a 32 percent tariff on imports from Taiwan, but one week later announced a 90-day pause on its implementation. However, a universal 10 percent tariff was immediately applied to most imports from around the world. On April 12, the Trump administration further exempted computers, smartphones and semiconductors from the new tariffs. In response, President William Lai’s (賴清德) administration has introduced a series of countermeasures to support affected
CROSS-STRAIT: The vast majority of Taiwanese support maintaining the ‘status quo,’ while concern is rising about Beijing’s influence operations More than eight out of 10 Taiwanese reject Beijing’s “one country, two systems” framework for cross-strait relations, according to a survey released by the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) on Thursday. The MAC’s latest quarterly survey found that 84.4 percent of respondents opposed Beijing’s “one country, two systems” formula for handling cross-strait relations — a figure consistent with past polling. Over the past three years, opposition to the framework has remained high, ranging from a low of 83.6 percent in April 2023 to a peak of 89.6 percent in April last year. In the most recent poll, 82.5 percent also rejected China’s
PLUGGING HOLES: The amendments would bring the legislation in line with systems found in other countries such as Japan and the US, Legislator Chen Kuan-ting said Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Chen Kuan-ting (陳冠廷) has proposed amending national security legislation amid a spate of espionage cases. Potential gaps in security vetting procedures for personnel with access to sensitive information prompted him to propose the amendments, which would introduce changes to Article 14 of the Classified National Security Information Protection Act (國家機密保護法), Chen said yesterday. The proposal, which aims to enhance interagency vetting procedures and reduce the risk of classified information leaks, would establish a comprehensive security clearance system in Taiwan, he said. The amendment would require character and loyalty checks for civil servants and intelligence personnel prior to
RSS