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Way opened for Taiwan to join WHA

After two days of exhaustive debate, amendments to the International Health Regulations (IHR) have finally been passed at the 58th World Health Assembly (WHA) conference in Geneva. As part of these amendments, and of particular significance for Taiwan, the principle of universal application is to be included in the regulations.

Further, Article 1 requires each World Health Organization (WHO) member state and the secretary-general to take all the necessary steps, according to the regulations as laid out in Articles 2 and 3, to promote the principle of universal application within the IHR.

This is a major advance in terms of Taiwan's attempts to participate in the WHO, as it provides the initial basis for direct contact between Taiwan and the secretariat of the WHO.

A senior diplomat told the Liberty Times (the Taipei Times' Chinese-language sister newspaper) that each member state's representative must report the amendments back to their own country before the amendment process is officially complete.

The IHR has been a focal point in the government's strategy concerning the WHO, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and other related bodies see the inclusion of the principle of universal application as providing the legal basis for direct contact with the WHO. The efficacy of the principle is further strengthened by the fact that Article 1 specifically requires the secretary-general to abide by it.

This can be seen as a victory for Taiwan despite China's recent signing of a Memorandum of Understanding with the WHO, saying that all matters concerning Taiwan should first be cleared with Beijing.

It remains to be seen just how much practical benefit this development will give Taiwan.

In an international press conference held yesterday, the Mainland Affairs Council said that Beijing's efforts to obstruct Taiwan's equal participation in the WHA conference demonstrate how China has been misleading the international community with pretentions of good will toward cross straits issues.

Beijing has recently tried to show a softening of its stance toward Taiwan by inviting Taiwanese opposition politicians to visit.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday criticized China for disrupting Gambia's top health official's speech on Wednesday in support of Taiwan at the annual conference of the WHA, the decision-making arm of the WHO.

A news agency report from Geneva said that Chinese representatives, in addition to obstructing Taiwan's bid to enter the WHA as an observer on Monday, banged their fists on the table to block Gambian Secretary of State for Health and Social Welfare Tamsir Mbowe from speaking during a discussion on revisions to the IHR.

Wang Chien-yeh (王建業), deputy director of MOFA's Department of Information and Cultural Affairs, said most of the participants in the WHA meeting "were repulsed by such barbaric behavior."

Wang said that during the course of a meeting, any countries that have differences over the remarks made by other countries should express them in a civilized way, adding that the banging on the table by the Chinese representatives at Wednesday's meeting was "quite rude."

The ministry will discuss the matter with the nation's allies and solicit legal opinions, Wang said, adding that Taiwan will not rule out joining forces with its allies to protest the incident through legal channels.
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