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WHO was ‘not involved’ in bid

The WHO had zero involvement in Taiwan’s World Health Assembly (WHA) bid and WHO Director-General Margaret Chan’s (陳馮富珍) decision to invite Taiwan to be an observer at this year’s meeting came only after she was “notified” of the result of cross-strait negotiations, the world health body’s spokesman Thomas Abraham said.

“There’s no negotiation with the WHO. The WHO was not involved at all,” Abraham was quoted as saying by Central News Agency (CNA) reports filed from Geneva. He added that he did not know whether the director-general was notified by one or both parties of the outcome of the cross-strait talks.

The WHO spokesman’s remarks contradict statements from Department of Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan (葉金川), who said yesterday in Taipei that Taiwan’s participation in this year’s WHA was the result of direct communication between Taiwan and the WHO, which did not go through China.

At a press conference on Thursday, Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) also said Taiwan was admitted as a result of efforts made by government agencies contacting the WHO, and not solely because of the Beijing’s approval as reported by the Associated Press.

Taiwan announced on Wednesday that Yeh had received a letter from Chan via fax inviting Taiwan to take part as an observer at this year’s WHA meeting under the name “Chinese Taipei.” The meeting is to be held from May 18 to May 27 in Geneva. This would be Taiwan’s first official attendance at a UN specialized agency meeting since the Republic of China forfeited its UN membership in 1971. Since 1997, Taiwan has been vying to return to the health watchdog, but each attempt was foiled because of Beijing’s boycott.

Critics however have said that the government must have made a deal with Beijing on WHA accession that compromised Taiwan’s sovereignty, a charge the government denies. The Democratic Progressive Party also suspects that under the deal, Taiwan will require China’s “approval” on a year-by-year basis to attend the annual event.

The CNA reports quoted Abraham as saying that he did not know whether Taiwan’s invitation to attend the WHA’s annual meeting would automatically be extended, or whether the WHO would only send an invitation if notified of a cross-strait consensus. He said, however, the current situation “is a reflection of the improved relationship between both parties. As long as this relationship continues, maybe we can expect this to continue as well.”

CNA quoted him as saying the name “Chinese Taipei” and other issues had been mutually agreed to by both parties across the Taiwan Strait and that agreement had been conveyed to the director-general.

Pan-green lawmakers yesterday said Abraham’s comments show that unlike the other six WHA observers, Taiwan’s participation in the WHA would be reviewed on an annual basis on Beijing’s whim.

“What Abraham said clearly demonstrated that Taiwan’s admittance to the WHA was arranged according to a memorandum of understanding signed between China and the WHO which stipulated that Taiwan was under the jurisdiction of China and that Taiwan’s attendance at any WHO activities must be pre-approved by Beijing,” said DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲), accusing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) of trading Taiwan’s sovereignty for personal political gain.

“During the eight years of DPP governance, we worked hard to win the bid. Even though it was a long arduous process, we made steady progress throughout the years because we refused to take short cuts such as agreeing to be a subordinate to China,” she said.

DPP Legislator Twu Shiing-jer (涂醒哲), former minister of the department of health, said the ­arrangement of Taiwan’s participation puts the country’s future in grave jeopardy because “if other nations think Taiwan’s involvement in the international community all hinges upon Beijing’s discretion, then why should they help Taiwan in the future?”

Twu said Taiwan’s WHA invitation was the fruit of a secret deal between the KMT and the Chinese Communist Party that ignored the WHO’s own rules and procedures.

Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Yang Chiung-ying (楊瓊瓔), on the other hand, said Taiwan’s participation in this year’s WHA was a breakthrough and called on the opposition not to be jealous of the government’s achievement in that regard.

When asked for comment on Abraham’s remarks, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) yesterday said the ministry does not comment on media reports and had instructed Taiwan’s representative office in Geneva to verify the information.

ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY STAFF WRITER
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