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Government protests against WHO ports list

The government yesterday lodged a protest with the WHO after it downgraded Taiwan's status by listing the nation's ports under China in the organization's online International Health Regulations (IHR) Authorized Ports List.

The IHR is the WHO's global legal framework for infectious disease control. It comes into effect in June.

The IHR Authorized Ports List, made public on the WHO's Web site last Friday, showed the list of ports sent by Taiwan to the WHO -- Keelung, Taichung, Kaohsiung, Hualien, Kinmen, Matsu, Mailiao and Suao -- listed under China.

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh (葉非比) said Taiwan's representative office in Geneva had filed a complaint with the WHO, demanding the WHO correct the classification as it "does not correspond to the facts."

"The classification has caused confusion for international shipping companies and has to be rectified as soon as possible," she said.

"The move shows that China's attempts to squeeze Taiwan's international space and belittle its sovereignty have risen to an unscrupulous level," Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) Spokesman Liu Te-shun (劉德勳) told a press conference yesterday. The MAC said it was worried that a list of airports recently sent by the government to the WHO will also be listed under China.

Previoulsy, the government filed a complaint with the WHO's International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) after Chinese authorities waited for 10 days before passing on a Sept. 12 message that baby corn exported by a Thai company might be contaminated. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) eventually received a fax from its Chinese counterpart on Sept. 21.

In the complaint, the government urged the WHO to restore direct contact with Taiwan instead of passing on information via China.

The government has not yet received a response from the WHO.
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