Sha Zukang (
Speaking to Taiwanese reporters at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO's highest decision-making body, Sha noted that the memorandum is the first China has ever signed with an international organization to handle the cross-strait problem.
The memorandum, signed by China and the WHO Secretariat last Saturday, stipulates that Taiwan has to apply for the WHO's technical assistance through China and that all exchanges between Taiwan and the WHO have to be approved by Beijing.
Neither China nor the WHO Secretariat consulted Taiwan over the contents of the memorandum, in which Taiwan is treated as a part of China. Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said it will never accept the memorandum if the document denigrates Taiwan's national status in any way.
Sha, however, argued that the contents of such memorandums are often kept secret.
"We will inform Taiwan of the details of the memo through proper channels in due course. We haven't done that yet," Sha said. "Only China and Taiwan can solve cross-strait problems."
Chinese Minister of Health Gao Qiang (高強) was to hold a press conference yesterday evening to explain the details of the memorandum.
The memorandum is significant for Taiwan because "diseases do not wait for political problems to be solved," Sha said.
Those comments were in marked contrast to Sha's harsh response to Taiwan's SARS problem in 2003. Two years ago, while Taiwan was struggling to contain the SARS epidemic, Sha snapped at Taiwanese reporters as they approached him in that year's WHA, saying: "Who cares about you?"
Meanwhile, a group of Taiwanese, including doctors, nurses and Aborigines, staged a protest yesterday morning outside the Palais des Nations in Geneva -- where the WHA is meeting -- against the WHO's isolation of Taiwan
Holding banners with slogans in several languages appealing for support for Taiwan's bid to join the WHO, the Taiwanese sang songs, including a song named Victory for Taiwan
It was cold and rainy in Geneva yesterday, but the bad weather did not douse the Taiwanese campaigners' passion for the WHO bid.
Members of the North America Taiwanese Women's Association (NATWA) also went to the Chinese embassy in Geneva around 30 minutes before the opening of the WHA to protest against China's obstruction of Taiwan's WHO bid.
They handed a letter to the embassy requesting that China relent in its opposition to Taiwan's bid. Overseas Chinese Affairs Commission Minister Chang Fu-mei (
"China always lies to the international community about how Beijing has taken care of the Taiwanese people's health. We feel very bad about that and hope China understands our feelings," Chang said.
The disruption of 941 flights in and out of Taiwan due to China’s large-scale military exercises was no accident, but rather the result of a “quasi-blockade” used to simulate creating the air and sea routes needed for an amphibious landing, a military expert said. The disruptions occurred on Tuesday and lasted about 10 hours as China conducted live-fire drills in the Taiwan Strait. The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said the exercises affected 857 international flights and 84 domestic flights, affecting more than 100,000 travelers. Su Tzu-yun (蘇紫雲), a research fellow at the government-sponsored Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said the air
Taiwan is to commence mass production of the Tien Kung (天弓, “Sky Bow”) III, IV and V missiles by the second quarter of this year if the legislature approves the government’s NT$1.25 trillion (US$39.78 billion) special defense budget, an official said yesterday. Commenting on condition of anonymity, a defense official with knowledge of the matter said that the advanced systems are expected to provide crucial capabilities against ballistic and cruise missiles for the proposed “T-Dome,” an advanced, multi-layered air defense network. The Tien Kung III is an air defense missile with a maximum interception altitude of 35km. The Tien Kung IV and V
Trips for more than 100,000 international and domestic air travelers could be disrupted as China launches a military exercise around Taiwan today, Taiwan’s Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) said yesterday. The exercise could affect nearly 900 flights scheduled to enter the Taipei Flight Information Region (FIR) during the exercise window, it added. A notice issued by the Chinese Civil Aviation Administration showed there would be seven temporary zones around the Taiwan Strait which would be used for live-fire exercises, lasting from 8am to 6pm today. All aircraft are prohibited from entering during exercise, it says. Taipei FIR has 14 international air routes and
Taiwan lacks effective and cost-efficient armaments to intercept rockets, making the planned “T-Dome” interception system necessary, two experts said on Tuesday. The concerns were raised after China’s military fired two waves of rockets during live-fire drills around Taiwan on Tuesday, part of two-day exercises code-named “Justice Mission 2025.” The first wave involved 17 rockets launched at 9am from Pingtan in China’s Fujian Province, according to Lieutenant General Hsieh Jih-sheng (謝日升) of the Office of the Deputy Chief of the General Staff for Intelligence at the Ministry of National Defense. Those rockets landed 70 nautical miles (129.6km) northeast of Keelung without flying over Taiwan,
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