A new bill sponsored by US Representative Sherrod Brown calling for a plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual summit of the World Health Assembly this coming May indicates renewed hope for Taiwan's WHO bid.
Headed by DPP Chairman Frank Hsieh (
Brown's aides noted that they were looking for additional sponsorship for a bill to support Taiwan's entry in the WHO, which may be introduced in Congress on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Lee Ming-liang (
Lee will be joining Brown and other lawmakers in a breakfast meeting today to win greater support from Capitol Hill for Taiwan's participation in the WHO.
The bill proposes that the US secretary of state initiate a plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit of the WHO assembly in May in Geneva, Switzerland.
The bill stipulates that the secretary of state should submit a written report to Congress containing the plan no later than 14 days after enactment of the bill.
Sources said more than a dozen lawmakers have already signed on to co-sponsor the bill, including Representative Henry Hyde, chairman of the powerful House International Relations Committee.
Brown introduced a similar bill last March, but no progress toward its passage was made.
Taiwan has been lobbying for WHO membership for many years, and although it has won great sympathy and support on Capital Hill, no substantial progress has been achieved.
Last October, the Department of Health in Taiwan was offended by a decision by the WHO to leave Taiwan off a list of a polio-free countries that was released in Japan. China was on the list, and Taiwan was included as a part of China.
Lee protested that "the success of polio eradication in Taiwan does not equate to China's situation."
Taiwan officials and Taiwan lobby groups such as the Formosa Association for Public Affairs said that they understand it is impossible to get US support for Taiwan's UN entry.
However, many of them believe that there is a window of opportunity with the Bush administration, as his team acknowledges Taiwan should have more international space and is likely to review US-Taiwan relations sometime in the next few months.
The officials and lobbyists said they are optimistic about gaining observer status in the WHO, though they say endorsement of Taiwan's full membership is still unlikely.
They hope to get the bill passed before May and are expecting further breakthroughs in Taiwan's participation in international organizations in the near future.
‘NO SECURITY RISK’: The Railway Bureau reassured the public that the technicians’ activities were limited to technical guidance and did not involve sensitive systems The Railway Bureau yesterday said it had invited eight Chinese technicians to assist with an airport MRT construction project. The bureau issued the confirmation after an Internet user said Chinese nationals had entered the construction zone of Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport’s Terminal 3 project. They asked why “individuals from an enemy state” were allowed access to such a major national infrastructure project, which raised serious concerns over Taiwan’s industrial safety, sensitive systems and information security. The bureau’s Northern Region Engineering Branch Office said subcontractor Taiwan Handle Industrial Co (台灣手把工業) of the Taoyuan airport MRT’s “Contract No. CU05 Project A14 Station Civil, MEP &
The National Chungshan Institute of Science and Technology yesterday showcased its locally developed variants of the Vision 60 robotic patrol dog, which it plans to deploy on the nation’s outlying territories in the South China Sea. The variants were produced under the Joint Lab project — created by the institute and domestic companies — and assembled with domestically produced motors, lenses and artificial intelligence (AI) systems alongside licensed tech from the US, Missile and Rocket Systems Research Division deputy director Jen Kuo-kang (任國光) told the media event at a military base in Taipei’s Dazhi (大直) area. Taiwan has built up its strengths
NOT IMMEDIATE: Taiwan has a chance to appeal the proposed 10 percent tariff before it starts, while other countries face a 12.5 percent tariff from the trade office Taiwan is among 60 economies determined by the US to have failed to impose or enforce a ban on the importation of goods produced with forced labor, according to a notice released on Tuesday by the Office of the US Trade Representative (USTR), which proposed imposing an additional 10 percent or more tariff on them. The USTR in a statement said that following an investigation, it had determined under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974 that the failure of the 60 economies to impose and effectively enforce a prohibition on the importation of goods produced with forced labor is
TIT-FOR-TAT: The US allegedly revoked the visa of a Chinese national working at Xinhua News Agency in the US in response to Beijing’s expulsion of Vivian Wang The Presidential Office yesterday condemned China for expelling a New York Times correspondent from Beijing following the newspaper’s interview with President William Lai (賴清德), saying the move highlighted Beijing’s suppression of press freedom and its threat to international news media. Taiwan has noted a series of recent incidents in which Beijing used similar tactics to “threaten and pressure international media outlets and journalists,” Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said in a statement. “This concerns not only press freedom and freedom of expression, but also the safety of journalists, and Taiwan and relevant partners are paying close attention to the situation,” she
RSS