The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said that it is unlikely Taiwan would be invited to attend this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), scheduled to take place in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 20 to May 28.
WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier last month told the Chinese-language Apple Daily in an e-mail that without a “cross-strait understanding,” it should not expect Taiwan to be issued an invitation to the WHA this year.
The WHO’s stance is as was described in the Apple Daily report, Department of International Organizations Director-General Bob Chen (陳龍錦) told reporters.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Taiwan has expressed its strong regret and dissatisfaction that the WHO “obeys China on all matters,” he said.
The WHO responded by saying that it understands Taiwan’s position, he said.
The government would continue to seek international support for its participation, he said, urging the WHO to invite Taiwan.
He expects there to be more support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA in the future, he added.
Since the end of last year’s WHA, Taiwan has been contacting its diplomatic allies and other nations in an effort to boost the possibility of its participation in the WHA, a source said on condition of anonymity.
With the exception of one member state, none of the nations that Taiwan has approached were opposed to Taiwan’s participation on account of personal considerations, the source said.
Friends of Taiwan, a group formed by the WHO delegations of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies, have sent a letter on the subject to the WHO, the source said.
The director of an international health organization last month also sent a letter to the WHO expressing its support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHA, the source said.
Taiwan has also asked its diplomatic allies to send a proposal to the WHO’s secretariat asking WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA, the source said, adding that the effort is under way.
Taiwan has not ruled out any options for making its voice heard by the WHA, a source familiar with the matter said, adding that all options are being evaluated.
Another source said that according to other accounts, the WHO agrees it should welcome more participants, but is concerned that China would would obstruct the WHA’s proceedings as a way of protest.
A number of WHO member states believe Taiwan’s request should be discussed appropriately, but do not want the WHA to suffer interference, the sources added.
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) has said that he would lead a delegation to the WHA this year whether or not Taiwan is invited.
If the nation is excluded from this year’s WHA, it would mark the third consecutive year that the nation has not been invited to the meeting.
Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei from 2009 to 2016 amid better cross-strait relations under the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration, which prioritized reducing cross-strait tensions and building friendly ties with Beijing.
However, since 2017 China has persuaded the WHO not to invite Taiwan, in line with Beijing’s hardline stance on cross-strait relations after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office in May 2016.
Additional reporting by CNA
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