The Ministry of Health and Welfare said that Taiwan had not received an invitation to attend the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) as of yesterday evening — a few hours before the online registration period ended, but said that the government would persist in its efforts to secure one.
The annual meeting of the WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is to take place from May 22 to 31 in Geneva.
With the online registration for this year’s WHA ending yesterday in Geneva, the ministry held a news conference in Taipei at 6pm to clarify the nation’s position.
Photo: Liao Chen-huei, Taipei Times
“We are still making an all-out effort to actively pursue [the invitation],” International Cooperation Office Technical Superintendent Hsu Min-huei (許明暉) said.
“Even if the online registration period is over, it does not mean that the nation has no chance of participating [as an observer],” he said. “The deadline for the online registration is not the deadline of our efforts to obtain an invitation, and we will continue to pursue it until the last minute.”
Unless the WHO secretariat clearly states that it does not plan to invite Taiwan, the government and supportive international forces will continue their efforts, Hsu said.
“The WHO is an organization that is non-political in nature and is concerned about the health of people all over the world,” he said. “So the ministry, with its principle of protecting the health of Taiwan’s 23 million people, thinks the right to attend the WHA should not be governed by politics.”
Responding to media queries about whether the minister would attend the WHA if Taiwan does not receive an invitation, Hsu said: “Top health officials from more than 190 countries will attend the WHA. It is a good chance for us to effectively communicate our thoughts with them, so basically, we will still attend.”
There are still many uncertainties involved in the process and the ministry has not decided who would form Taiwan’s delegation yet, but “concerning our people’s right to health, we still hope to receive an invitation,” he said.
Separately yesterday, writing in Japanese, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) on Twitter highlighted the nation’s bid to attend the WHA and its desire to contribute to the international community.
The nation has cared for the health of many people who live in more disadvantaged medical environments, and it hopes to take part in this year’s WHA in the spirit of contributing to the international community, she wrote.
Tsai has tweeted similar messages a total of nine times in English and Japanese, calling for the international community to support Taiwan’s bid to attend the meeting.
Tsai’s tweet yesterday was the second in her WHA Twitter campaign in Japanese, following one on Wednesday.
Additional reporting by CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique