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Dignity to dictate WHA bid

Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mao (侯勝茂) yesterday said the nation's participation in international organizations should not be arranged through other countries and that national dignity was the bottom line in these efforts.

Hou made the remarks in response to Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Yang Li-huan (楊麗環) and Lai Shyh-bao (賴世葆), who suggested that Taiwan use the title "Chinese Taipei" in its bid to enter the World Health Assembly (WHA) -- the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Yang and Lai argued that the title was viable because it had been used to enter a number of other global organizations, including the WTO, and was acceptable to China, which has blocked Taiwan from joining international organizations where statehood is required.

Hou said that although the department had tried its best to get Taiwan into the WHO, the efforts had been made under the principle that Taiwan could freely speak to other member countries without having to rely on a "third nation" playing the role of a go-between.

On the title that Taiwan should use for its WHA bid, Hou said that a country's name in an international organization was a matter that reflected on its sovereignty, and therefore was a matter that could be decided only by the president or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The bottom line was to seek substantive representation in the organization while upholding national dignity, Hou said, adding that Taiwan was not considering joining the WHA under the title "Center for Disease Control [CDC], Taiwan."
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