TT: Last year, France, during the WHA steering committee meeting, termed the proposal by Taiwan's ally countries as a "political" issue and opposed the inclusion of the Taiwan case on the assembly agenda. Spain said it's not "opportune" to discuss Taiwan's bid because it had been reviewed in January. Have you had any updated information as to how the EU member states or the EU as a collective power might be moving during the upcoming WHA meeting?
McDonald: I don't have precise information. But I think there is a much more positive attitude. And I think people see this much less as a political issue now than as a genuine health issue.
TT: Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (
McDonald: I haven't read the precise report of the meeting. I am sure we had a positive view of these discussions. As I said, we would share the attitude of the member states, which is more positive, precisely because of this major health issue.
TT: There's no denying that EU member states have so many commercial interests in China, while Taiwan's WHO bid is more or less a political issue. To what extent do you think the EU member states will run the risk of sacrificing their interests in China by supporting Taiwan's WHO bid in one way or another?
McDonald: We don't see it that way. We don't imagine that China will react negatively, because they also understand or begin to understand more clearly the potential seriousness of this disease and the economic consequences of it. The most fundamental thing a government has to worry about is public health. And we have to focus on the health aspect and worry less about the political aspect.
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