The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it was “unwise” for China to ask the WHO to attach a proviso that Taiwan accept the “one China” principle to an invitation to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA).
Regarding a statement made by China’s Taiwan Affairs Office that Taiwan’s participation in the WHA is an arrangement made possible only under the “one China” principle, the MAC said that Taiwan’s attendance at the WHA for the past seven years was an achievement made possible by “the nation’s efforts and the support of both the international community and China.”
“The two sides of the Taiwan Strait have had good interactions based on the so-called ‘1992 consensus’ and ‘one China’ principles. The ‘one China’ upheld by this government is the Republic of China; [Beijing] should face the fact that the two sides have different central governments and we have never agreed with [China’s] so-called ‘one China’ principle,” the MAC said in its statement.
Photo: CNA
The so-called “1992 consensus,” a term former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) admitted making up in 2000, refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese government that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
“It should be Taiwan’s basic right and obligation to take part in international affairs, and it is also what Taiwanese have long been anticipating. [China] should not request the WHO to issue a caveat to our participation in the WHA,” the MAC said. “It is an unwise move.”
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed the invitation, which is addressed to Minister of Health and Welfare Chiang Been-huang (蔣丙煌).
“The [Taiwanese] government views the eighth invitation positively,” the ministry said, adding that UN General Assembly Resolution No. 2758 and Resolution WHA 25.1 referred to in the invitation and the “one China” principle included in the resolutions are the “WHO’s stance declared unilaterally.”
The KMT was quick to laud the invitation as the fruit of President Ma Ying-jeou’s (馬英九) “achievements in cross-strait relations” over the past eight years.
The KMT on Friday said it welcomed the invitation.
It also called on the incoming Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) administration to “handle [the affairs] concerning Taiwan’s participation in international organizations with a practical attitude and to maintain peaceful and stable cross-strait exchanges.”
KMT caucus whip Lin Te-fu (林德福) said the good news is that the invitation “highlights the achievements made by Ma in the past eight years in cross-strait relations, but also shows the difficulty of maintaining long-term cross-strait stability.”
“I would expect Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration to cherish the cross-strait relationship maintained so far and not to let go of it easily,” Lin added.
Cabinet spokesperson-designate Tung Chen-yuan (童振源) said that “on the question of whether health minister-designate Lin Tzou-yien (林奏延) would register to attend the WHA, we are now in close contact with the Ministry of Health and Welfare and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to learn the latest developments.”
Tung called on all Taiwanese, regardless of political affiliation, to defend Taiwan’s right to take part in an international event.
DPP LegislatorWu Ping-jui (吳秉叡) said the premise of “one China” is unacceptable.
“The invitation is forcing Taiwan to deny our sovereignty if we want to attend the meeting, it is forcing the government to betray the nation,” DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu (王定宇) said. “If we accept it, we would be setting a bad example for our future international participation — be it in the Olympics or in our attempt to join the Interpol.”
“If we accept it, the international status that we have tried so hard to establish will collapse, threatening the sovereignty and the very existence of the Republic of China,” Wang added.
New Power Party caucus convener Hsu Yung-ming (徐永明) called on the Ma administration to make the full text of the letter public.
“The Ma administration should also clearly explain past statements that we were not participating under the ‘one China’ principle.If that is clearly cited in this letter, there might a possibility of deception by the government in the past,” he said.
The NPP would support any efforts by the new government to maintain Taiwan’s position with dignity, he added.
Additional reporting by Loa Iok-sin and Abraham Gerber
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