Taiwan has become a popular term in Geneva, as Taiwanese nongovernmental organizations and the government push for the nation’s participation in this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday in the Swiss city.
Taiwan had hoped to attend the WHA that opens today as an observer, as it did from 2009 to 2016, but was not invited for a third year due to China’s obstructionism.
Despite the snub, Chen on Friday left for Geneva at the head of a delegation to publicize Taiwan’s contributions to global health.
Photo: CNA
Chen said that he had attended two bilateral meetings since his arrival in Geneva.
“One meeting was with Saint Lucia, and we mainly shared our experiences with the National Health Insurance system and personnel training,” he said. “The other was with a Southeast Asian country, which was mainly about Taiwan’s medical cloud, and their eyes widened when they heard about it.”
Members of Taiwanese civic groups and several expatriates yesterday wore T-shirts with the words “Health for all with Taiwan” as they handed out pamphlets and leaflets in four languages outside the UN’s Palais des Nations, he said.
Advertisements emblazoned with “Health for all, Taiwan can help” are also displayed on five TaxiBikes, the electric bicycle cabs available in downtown Geneva, as well as on the shuttle van that the delegation is using during its stay, he said.
Similar ads can also be seen near the hotels where WHA delegations are staying.
“Taiwan has become a popular term in Geneva now,” Chen said. “We are very grateful for everyone’s support.”
The Taiwan Association for Global Health Diplomacy has a booth in the Geneve-Cornavin Train Station to promote Taiwan’s interest in using its advanced telemedicine technology to help other nations and contribute to global health.
Members of the Taiwan United Nations Alliance (TAIUNA) yesterday staged a flash mob outside the Permanent Mission of the People’s Republic of China to the UN Office in Geneva to protest against China’s suppression of Taiwan.
TAIUNA members said they would also try to make Taiwan’s presence felt in Geneva by attending yesterday’s Walk the Talk, a warm-up organized by the WHO for the annual WHA meeting, which is expected to attract up to 1,000 participants from various nations.
Chen said he hoped bilateral meetings with representatives of the US, Japan and other nations would lead to substantive results, and that he plans to hold a news conference today to promote Taiwan’s stance.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Saturday urged China to offer an olive branch by sharing epidemic prevention information with Taiwan through the WHO.
Such a gesture might appeal to Taiwanese and lead to win-win outcomes, the KMT statement said.
It also urged the WHO to include Taiwan at its meetings, as having the highest attainable level of health is a fundamental rights of every human being, according to the WHO constitution.
A Chinese aircraft carrier group entered Japan’s economic waters over the weekend, before exiting to conduct drills involving fighter jets, the Japanese Ministry of Defense said yesterday. The Liaoning aircraft carrier, two missile destroyers and one fast combat supply ship sailed about 300km southwest of Japan’s easternmost island of Minamitori on Saturday, a ministry statement said. It was the first time a Chinese aircraft carrier had entered that part of Japan’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), a ministry spokesman said. “We think the Chinese military is trying to improve its operational capability and ability to conduct operations in distant areas,” the spokesman said. China’s growing
Taiwan yesterday denied Chinese allegations that its military was behind a cyberattack on a technology company in Guangzhou, after city authorities issued warrants for 20 suspects. The Guangzhou Municipal Public Security Bureau earlier yesterday issued warrants for 20 people it identified as members of the Information, Communications and Electronic Force Command (ICEFCOM). The bureau alleged they were behind a May 20 cyberattack targeting the backend system of a self-service facility at the company. “ICEFCOM, under Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party, directed the illegal attack,” the warrant says. The bureau placed a bounty of 10,000 yuan (US$1,392) on each of the 20 people named in
Nine retired generals from Taiwan, Japan and the US have been invited to participate in a tabletop exercise hosted by the Taipei School of Economics and Political Science Foundation tomorrow and Wednesday that simulates a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan in 2030, the foundation said yesterday. The five retired Taiwanese generals would include retired admiral Lee Hsi-min (李喜明), joined by retired US Navy admiral Michael Mullen and former chief of staff of the Japan Self-Defense Forces general Shigeru Iwasaki, it said. The simulation aims to offer strategic insights into regional security and peace in the Taiwan Strait, it added. Foundation chair Huang Huang-hsiung
PUBLIC WARNING: The two students had been tricked into going to Hong Kong for a ‘high-paying’ job, which sent them to a scam center in Cambodia Police warned the public not to trust job advertisements touting high pay abroad following the return of two college students over the weekend who had been trafficked and forced to work at a cyberscam center in Cambodia. The two victims, surnamed Lee (李), 18, and Lin (林), 19, were interviewed by police after landing in Taiwan on Saturday. Taichung’s Chingshui Police Precinct said in a statement yesterday that the two students are good friends, and Lin had suspended her studies after seeing the ad promising good pay to work in Hong Kong. Lee’s grandfather on Thursday reported to police that Lee had sent
RSS