The US has launched a major campaign to help Taiwan win observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the supreme governing body of the WHO.
Taiwan has fought for observer status every year from 1997 to 2006, and again last year, but has never been able to overcome strong opposition from China. But sources in Washington said that a compromise is now being worked out with Beijing, and while it is still not certain, there is a good chance that observer status will be granted when the WHA meets for its 62nd session next month.
While details of the proposed compromise remain secret, the sources said it could involve China agreeing to observer status for Taiwan on an annual basis.
A report on the US position — prepared by the State Department for US Vice President Joseph Biden and Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi — has been leaked to the Taipei Times.
“The United States will coordinate closely with like-minded nations so that we can effectively express our support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the work of the WHO,” the report says. “Our frequent public statements have facilitated positive developments in that regard and reflect our longstanding commitment to finding practical ways to advance Taiwan’s participation in the work of the WHO. The warming of cross-strait relations over the past year offers some encouragement that Taiwan’s bid for observer status may meet with less resistance in the coming years.”
WHO members voted 133 to 25 in 2004 against granting observer status to Taiwan. That year was the last time a vote on observer status was held and the US cast its ballot in favor.
The new report says: “The United States believes that the people of Taiwan should be able to contribute to, and benefit from, the work of the WHO.”
“The deadly outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome [SARS] in 2003 and the ongoing concern over the potential for human transmission of the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus highlight the need to involve Taiwan in a meaningful, pragmatic way in the work of the WHO,” it says. “The United States welcomes a potential decrease in the politicization and controversy surrounding Taiwan’s participation in the WHO in keeping with the improvement of cross-strait relations over the past year.”
Consistent with its “one China” policy, the US does not support membership for Taiwan in the UN or its specialized agencies, including the WHO, for which statehood is a requirement of membership.
“Throughout 2007 and 2008, the US held numerous strategy sessions with like-minded states and WHO Secretariat officials,” the report says. “Our goal has been to find ways to bring about Taiwan’s meaningful participation in appropriate activities of the WHO. On a number of occasions over the past several years, the US has reminded the PRC [People’s Republic of Chins] of the foundations of our ‘one China’ policy and has made clear that we would be concerned if political or nomenclature issues prevented meaningful participation by Taiwan’s experts in bodies such as the WHO, where Taiwan has knowledge to contribute and where its exclusion could lead to gaps in public health coverage.”
The report reveals that “throughout 2008 and in early 2009, the US continued to express support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO.”
“The US made a number of representations to foreign governments supporting observer status for Taiwan,” it says. “At the urging of the US and other like-minded states, the Secretariat is working to involve Taiwan’s experts in a number of technical-level meetings.”
SECURITY: As China is ‘reshaping’ Hong Kong’s population, Taiwan must raise the eligibility threshold for applications from Hong Kongers, Chiu Chui-cheng said When Hong Kong and Macau citizens apply for residency in Taiwan, it would be under a new category that includes a “national security observation period,” Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) said yesterday. President William Lai (賴清德) on March 13 announced 17 strategies to counter China’s aggression toward Taiwan, including incorporating national security considerations into the review process for residency applications from Hong Kong and Macau citizens. The situation in Hong Kong is constantly changing, Chiu said to media yesterday on the sidelines of the Taipei Technology Run hosted by the Taipei Neihu Technology Park Development Association. With
CARROT AND STICK: While unrelenting in its military threats, China attracted nearly 40,000 Taiwanese to over 400 business events last year Nearly 40,000 Taiwanese last year joined industry events in China, such as conferences and trade fairs, supported by the Chinese government, a study showed yesterday, as Beijing ramps up a charm offensive toward Taipei alongside military pressure. China has long taken a carrot-and-stick approach to Taiwan, threatening it with the prospect of military action while reaching out to those it believes are amenable to Beijing’s point of view. Taiwanese security officials are wary of what they see as Beijing’s influence campaigns to sway public opinion after Taipei and Beijing gradually resumed travel links halted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but the scale of
A US Marine Corps regiment equipped with Naval Strike Missiles (NSM) is set to participate in the upcoming Balikatan 25 exercise in the Luzon Strait, marking the system’s first-ever deployment in the Philippines. US and Philippine officials have separately confirmed that the Navy Marine Expeditionary Ship Interdiction System (NMESIS) — the mobile launch platform for the Naval Strike Missile — would take part in the joint exercise. The missiles are being deployed to “a strategic first island chain chokepoint” in the waters between Taiwan proper and the Philippines, US-based Naval News reported. “The Luzon Strait and Bashi Channel represent a critical access
Pope Francis is be laid to rest on Saturday after lying in state for three days in St Peter’s Basilica, where the faithful are expected to flock to pay their respects to history’s first Latin American pontiff. The cardinals met yesterday in the Vatican’s synod hall to chart the next steps before a conclave begins to choose Francis’ successor, as condolences poured in from around the world. According to current norms, the conclave must begin between May 5 and 10. The cardinals set the funeral for Saturday at 10am in St Peter’s Square, to be celebrated by the dean of the College
RSS