HEALTH
WHA role normal: minister
Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decisionmaking arm of the WHO, has become normalized, Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) said yesterday. In addition to the nation’s achievements in the field of medicine, which have earned it increased recognition from other WHO members, Taiwan is engaging in more discussions during bilateral talks with other WHO members, Chiu said in Geneva, where he is attending the 66th WHA that opened yesterday. Chiu said that when he attends talks with the health ministers of WHO member-countries, he can feel the importance they attach to Taiwan’s performance in the fields of medicine and health. Meanwhile, more in-depth discussions are being included in such talks, he said. On Sunday, Taiwan’s liaison office in Geneva held a party attended by ministers and vice ministers from 19 of its diplomatic allies. The number of guests was the largest in recent years.
DIPLOMACY
Degree for Paraguay leader
Paraguayan President Luis Federico Franco Gomez received an honorary doctoral degree from Taipei Medical University yesterday in recognition of his efforts to improve public health in the South American country. The doctor-turned-politician said he will continue to enhance healthcare for his people after receiving his degree certificate at a ceremony in Taipei. Franco also said he would continue to promote bilateral exchanges between Taiwan and Paraguay, Taipei’s only diplomatic ally in South America. Franco has strengthened measures to prevent dengue fever, set up a specialist heart hospital and ensured the provision of free cervical cancer vaccines for women, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Ko (柯森耀) said at the ceremony.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods