The legislative caucuses of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the New Power Party (NPP) yesterday issued statements in support of Taiwan being allowed to participate in future World Health Assembly (WHA) meetings so that it can continue to make contributions to global health.
DPP Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), KMT caucus deputy secretary-general William Tseng (曾銘宗) and NPP Executive Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) read out their statements at the end of a plenary session at the Legislative Yuan.
“Taiwan is East Asia’s transportation hub, where frequent cultural and economic exchanges, as well as a high turnover of visitors, are likely to lead to the cross-border spread of pathogens, cross-infection and the breeding of new infectious diseases,” the DPP statement said.
Photo: Chu Pei-hsiung, Taipei Times
“Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO’s framework and the WHA would cause it to lag behind WHO member states in the collection of timely information on diseases and healthcare, with such information often being incomplete,” it said, adding that it would not only hurt the welfare and rights of 23 million Taiwanese, but also cause a serious breach in the global healthcare system.
Taiwan has for years helped bolster global healthcare capabilities by helping Southeast Asia combat Ebola, Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), dengue fever and the Zika virus, the DPP legislative caucus said in its statement.
Taiwan was the first Asian nation to create a national health insurance system, which covers 99.9 percent of its people and whose costs account for only 6.3 percent of GDP, the DPP statement said, adding that the nation is willing and able to share its experience with the rest of the world.
It is unwise for China to interfere with Taiwan’s collaborations and exchanges in disease prevention by restricting its international space, it said.
“The Legislative Yuan fully supports the government’s efforts to secure a seat for Taiwan in the WHA as an observer” to maintain world health and uphold health as a human right, it added.
The KMT’s statement attributed Taiwan’s exclusion from this year’s WHA to the DPP’s diplomatic policy, which it said was predicated on political considerations.
However, the KMT caucus said in its statement that it supports the government showcasing Taiwan’s resolve and capability to gain international participation and its bid to attend future WHAs using the name “Chinese Taipei.”
The NPP’s statement lauded the government’s resistance against Beijing’s “one China” principle and thanked Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) for “speaking up for Taiwan” and spearheading ministerial bilateral health talks on the sidelines of this year’s WHA, which is to begin on Monday in Geneva, Switzerland.
Separately on Thursday, a bipartisan group of 13 US senators wrote a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus asking that Taiwan be invited to take part in next week’s WHA.
Led by senators Marco Rubio and Bob Menendez, the group asked Tedros to issue an invitation to Taiwan to allow it to unconditionally participate as an observer at the annual WHA.
“For many years, the US Senate has strongly supported, on a bipartisan basis, Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO. We reaffirm our belief that it is important for appropriate global forums to include Taiwan, one of the most developed democracies and economies in the Indo-Pacific region with an advanced healthcare system and impressive record of providing humanitarian relief around the world,” the letter said.
They also expressed grave concern about China’s increasing efforts to isolate Taiwan and block its participation in world bodies, saying that “coordinating with nations around the world on pressing global health issues is important for the health and well-being of all people and all nations, and should not be taken hostage by any government’s political objectives.”
The letter came on the heels of a similar letter signed by 172 members of the US House of Representatives that was sent to Tedros on Wednesday.
Taiwan had participated in the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, but it did not receive an invitation last year and this year due to Chinese pressure.
Additional reporting by CNA
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