President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) yesterday defended Taiwan’s participation in the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), and said the government would seek to join more international organizations via the WHA model.
Amid challenges from the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) about the government’s protest over the WHO addressing Taiwan as “a province of China” in an internal memo, Ma said the people should cherish the nation’s participation in the international health body and work together to strive for more achievements in the field of health.
Despite continuous difficulties participating in international organizations, Taiwan returned to the WHA in 2009 under the official title of “Chinese Taipei” and was able to participate in the assembly, rather than limited to technical meetings, Ma said.
Photo: CNA
“Although Taiwan still faces many difficulties in taking part in international activities, it has gradually made a breakthrough,” Ma said.
“We will copy our experience of participating in the WHA and join more international organizations on the basis of that model. -Hopefully, Taiwanese will cherish the achievements we have made over the years and strive for more rights for the nation,” he said when meeting with medical staff at Mackay Memorial Hospital.
The revelation of the memo sparked challenges from the DPP over the nation’s sovereignty under the Ma administration. The DPP also demanded a boycott of the WHA meeting.
The Ma administration ignored such criticism and sent Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) to attend the annual meeting last week.
Chiu, who returned to Taiwan on Friday, also attended the event yesterday.
In a letter dated Saturday last week to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍), which he signed off by addressing himself as “Minister of Department of Health, Chinese Taipei,” Chiu protested “improper procedures and erroneous terminology” used in the leaked WHO memo from last year. Yesterday Chiu said that his protest letter had made the nation’s stance clear during the WHA and urged the DPP to work with the government in defending Taiwanese sovereignty.
PRAISE: Japanese visitor Takashi Kubota said the Taiwanese temple architecture images showcased in the AI Art Gallery were the most impressive displays he saw Taiwan does not have an official pavilion at the World Expo in Osaka, Japan, because of its diplomatic predicament, but the government-backed Tech World pavilion is drawing interest with its unique recreations of works by Taiwanese artists. The pavilion features an artificial intelligence (AI)-based art gallery showcasing works of famous Taiwanese artists from the Japanese colonial period using innovative technologies. Among its main simulated displays are Eastern gouache paintings by Chen Chin (陳進), Lin Yu-shan (林玉山) and Kuo Hsueh-hu (郭雪湖), who were the three young Taiwanese painters selected for the East Asian Painting exhibition in 1927. Gouache is a water-based
A magnitude 4.1 earthquake struck eastern Taiwan's Hualien County at 2:23pm today, according to the Central Weather Administration (CWA). The epicenter of the temblor was 5.4 kilometers northeast of Hualien County Hall, at a depth of 34.9 km, according to the CWA. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effect of a temblor, was the highest in Hualien County, where it measured 2 on Taiwan's 7-tier intensity scale. The quake also measured an intensity of 1 in Yilan county, Taichung, Nantou County, Changhua County and Yunlin County, the CWA said. There were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
OFF-TARGET: More than 30,000 participants were expected to take part in the Games next month, but only 6,550 foreign and 19,400 Taiwanese athletes have registered Taipei city councilors yesterday blasted the organizers of next month’s World Masters Games over sudden timetable and venue changes, which they said have caused thousands of participants to back out of the international sporting event, among other organizational issues. They also cited visa delays and political interference by China as reasons many foreign athletes are requesting refunds for the event, to be held from May 17 to 30. Jointly organized by the Taipei and New Taipei City governments, the games have been rocked by numerous controversies since preparations began in 2020. Taipei City Councilor Lin Yen-feng (林延鳳) said yesterday that new measures by
RSS