The US Department of State and several prominent US politicians have criticized international organizations for excluding Taiwan amid a global effort to curb the spread of a new coronavirus.
The WHO on Thursday declared the virus a public health emergency of international concern, but did not permit Taiwan to attend emergency briefings about the virus even though there are 10 confirmed cases in the nation.
US senators, including Mitt Romney and Cory Gardner, said China has placed pressure on UN-related agencies, such as the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), as well as the International Criminal Police Organization (Interpol), to exclude Taiwan from discussions, and called instead for Taiwan’s immediate inclusion.
Photo: US White House Web site
Japan, Canada, the EU and other world powers in the past week have also renewed their support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the annual World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decisionmaking body, as an observer amid the outbreak.
The US State Department on Saturday criticized the ICAO for allegedly blocking users on Twitter who refer to Taiwan’s non-participation in the organization.
“Taiwan has a relevant and credible voice on transnational health issues, and the United States has long supported its active engagement in international venues, including ICAO, where its expertise can be beneficial,” US Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus said in a statement.
“We call upon ICAO to immediately and permanently reverse its practice of blocking discussion of Taiwan on its Twitter properties and make clear publicly its understanding that freedom of expression must always supersede the political insecurities of member states,” she said.
The ICAO denied blocking Twitter users.
In related developments, a petition submitted to a White House Web site that calls on the US to help Taiwan be included in the WHO has reached the required threshold to warrant an official response.
The petition, initiated on Thursday by someone identified only as “C.C.,” had collected more than 120,000 signatures as of 2pm yesterday.
According to the rules of the “We the People” Web site, a petition needs to gain at least 100,000 signatures within 30 days to obtain a White House review and response.
The White House says it usually gives a response within 60 days, but it could take longer, depending on the issue and the volume of petitions submitted.
The person who initiated the petition said Taiwan has “high-quality medical technology and abundant medical experiences and has been contributing to medical issues continuously.”
“However, Taiwan has always been precluded from WHO due to China’s opposition and pressure, which made Taiwan unable to access timely information from WHO at SARS outbreak,” the petition said.
Taiwan is standing “at the first line of defense” during the new coronavirus outbreak, so it should not be excluded from the WHO for political reasons, for the sake of Taiwan’s 23 million people and global safety, the petition added.
The Ministry of the Interior (MOI) is to tighten rules for candidates running for public office, requiring them to declare that they do not hold a Chinese household registration or passport, and that they possess no other foreign citizenship. The requirement was set out in a draft amendment to the Enforcement Rules of the Public Officials Election and Recall Act (公職人員選舉罷免法 ) released by the ministry on Thursday. Under the proposal, candidates would need to make the declaration when submitting their registration forms, which would be published in the official election bulletin. The move follows the removal of several elected officials who were
The Republic of China (ROC) is celebrating its 114th Double Ten National Day today, featuring military parades and a variety of performances and speeches in front of the Presidential Office in Taipei. The Taiwan Taiko Association opened the celebrations with a 100-drummer performance, including young percussionists. As per tradition, an air force Mirage 2000 fighter jet flew over the Presidential Office as a part of the performance. The Honor Guards of the ROC and its marching band also heralded in a military parade. Students from Taichung's Shin Min High School then followed with a colorful performance using floral imagery to represent Taiwan's alternate name
FOUR DESIGNATED AREAS: Notices were issued for live-fire exercises in waters south and northwest of Penghu, northeast of Keelung and west of Kaohsiung, they said The military is planning three major annual exercises across the army, navy and air force this month, with the navy’s “Hai Chiang” (海強, “Sea Strong”) drills running from today through Thursday, the Ministry of National Defense said yesterday. The Hai Chiang exercise, which is to take place in waters surrounding Taiwan, would feature P-3C Orion maritime patrol aircraft and S-70C anti-submarine helicopters, the ministry said, adding that the drills aim to bolster the nation’s offshore defensive capabilities. China has intensified military and psychological pressure against Taiwan, repeatedly sending warplanes and vessels into areas near the nation’s air defense identification zone and across
A Chinese takeover of Taiwan would severely threaten the national security of the US, Japan, the Philippines and other nations, while global economic losses could reach US$10 trillion, National Security Council Deputy Secretary-General Lin Fei-fan (林飛帆) wrote in an article published yesterday in Foreign Affairs. “The future of Taiwan is not merely a regional concern; it is a test of whether the international order can withstand the pressure of authoritarian expansionism,” Lin wrote in the article titled “Taiwan’s Plan for Peace Through Strength — How Investments in Resilience Can Deter Beijing.” Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) intent to take Taiwan by force