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.
FIREPOWER: On top of the torpedoes, the military would procure Kestrel II anti-tank weapons systems to replace aging license-produced M72 LAW launchers Taiwan is to receive US-made Mark 48 torpedoes and training simulators over the next three years, following delays that hampered the navy’s operational readiness, the Ministry of National Defense’s latest budget proposal showed. The navy next year would acquire four training simulator systems for the torpedoes and take receipt of 14 torpedoes in 2027 and 10 torpedoes in 2028, the ministry said in its budget for the next fiscal year. The torpedoes would almost certainly be utilized in the navy’s two upgraded Chien Lung-class submarines and the indigenously developed Hai Kun, should the attack sub successfully reach operational status. US President Donald Trump
TPP RALLY: The clashes occurred near the Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall on Saturday at a rally to mark the anniversary of a raid on former TPP chairman Ko Wen-je People who clashed with police at a Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) rally in Taipei on Saturday would be referred to prosecutors for investigation, said the Ministry of the Interior, which oversees the National Police Agency. Taipei police had collected evidence of obstruction of public officials and coercion by “disorderly” demonstrators, as well as contraventions of the Assembly and Parade Act (集會遊行法), the ministry said in a statement on Sunday. It added that amid the “severe pushing and jostling” by some demonstrators, eight police officers were injured, including one who was sent to hospital after losing consciousness, allegedly due to heat stroke. The Taipei
NO LIVERPOOL TRIP: Taiwan’s Lin Yu-ting, who won a gold medal in the boxing at the Paris Olympics, was embroiled in controversy about her gender at that event Taiwanese boxer Lin Yu-ting (林郁婷) will not attend this year’s World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, England, due to a lack of response regarding her sex tests from the organizer, World Boxing. The national boxing association on Monday said that it had submitted all required tests to World Boxing, but had not received a response as of Monday, the departure day for the championships. It said the decision for Lin to skip the championships was made to protect its athletes, ensuring they would not travel to the UK without a guarantee of participation. Lin, who won a gold medal in the women’s 57kg boxing
The US has revoked Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co’s (TSMC, 台積電) authorization to freely ship essential gear to its main Chinese chipmaking base, potentially curtailing its production capabilities at that older-generation facility. American officials recently informed TSMC of their decision to end the Taiwanese chipmaker’s so-called validated end user (VEU) status for its Nanjing site. The action mirrors steps the US took to revoke VEU designations for China facilities owned by Samsung Electronics Co and SK Hynix Inc. The waivers are set to expire in about four months. “TSMC has received notification from the US Government that our VEU authorization for TSMC Nanjing
RSS