Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川) said late on Saturday that Taiwan’s sovereignty was not and would not be eclipsed during the annual meeting of the WHO from today until Friday.
Yeh, who arrived in Geneva on Saturday to attend the 62nd World Health Assembly (WHA) at the head of a 15-member delegation of Taiwanese health officials and experts, called on Taiwanese to rest assured on the question of sovereignty.
“Please don’t worry. We would take action if Taiwan’s sovereignty were at risk of being compromised,” Yeh said.
Taiwan was invited by WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍) on April 28 to attend the WHA meeting as an observer under the title “The Department of Health, Chinese Taipei.”
This marked the first time in 38 years that the Republic of China (ROC) would participate in a meeting hosted by a UN agency. Taiwan will attend as the seventh observer.
Addressing CNA reporters at a souvenir shop at the Palais des Nations — the venue of the WHA meeting — Yeh lamented the fact that “there is no ROC national flag here.”
“We still have a long way to go,” he said.
Meanwhile, Yeh said the invitation to Taiwan to take part in this year’s WHA as an observer was the result of improved cross-strait relations since President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) came to office.
Yeh said that while it was natural for Taiwanese health officials to meet their Chinese counterparts during the five-day meeting, “I don’t see any necessity for the [Department of Health] to intentionally seek contact with Chinese delegates.”
In Taipei, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) said that in the section about global health on the WHO Web site, Taiwan was referred to as “China (Province of Taiwan),” which the party said made it abundantly clear that a 2005 memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between China and the WHO was in effect.
The DPP was referring to an MOU that stipulated that Taiwan could participate in the WHO’s technical meetings under the names “Taiwan, China” or “Taipei.”
DPP spokesperson Cheng Wen-tsan (鄭文燦) said that while Ma might be very pleased with Yeh’s participation at the WHA, Taiwan’s treatment on the WHO Web site “clearly shows that the approach taken to obtain observer status has undermined the sovereignty of Taiwan.”
“The government is talking a lot of nonsense,” Cheng said.
Cheng criticized the Ma administration for not seeking full WHO membership for Taiwan and deceiving Taiwanese, adding that the DPP worried that the approach used to gain WHA observer status could lead other international organizations to label Taiwan a province of China.
Cheng said the DPP advocates full WHO membership for Taiwan rather than observer status within the “one China” framework, adding that the DPP would closely watch this week’s WHA meeting for signs of attempts to denigrate Taiwan’s sovereignty.
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