The US on Monday said it is pleased to see Taiwan has received an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), but avoided commenting on the WHO’s mention of the “one China” principle in the invitation letter.
US Department of State Office of Press Relations director Elizabeth Trudeau reiterated US support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA when asked about the WHO’s invitation.
“We are pleased that Taiwan has received an invitation to this year’s World Health Assembly taking place May 23 through 28,” Trudeau said.
Taiwan has participated as an observer in the WHA for the past seven years, she said, adding that the US “strongly supports such WHA participation and Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the work of the World Health Organization-related activities.”
“Taiwan has made important contributions to global health, and its participation in the WHA and in the work of the WHO contributes to a safer, healthier world,” she said.
Asked about the mention of the “one China” principle in the invitation, Trudeau said the US remains committed to its “one China” policy based on the Three Joint Communiques and the Taiwan Relations Act, but she did not comment further.
Responding to an e-mail on the WHA invitation, US Department of State Bureau of East Asian and Pacific Affairs spokeswoman Anna Richey-Allen said the future of cross-strait relations is for the people of both sides of the Taiwan Strait to decide.
A fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
The Keelung District Prosecutors’ Office today requested that a court detain three individuals, including Keelung Department of Civil Affairs Director Chang Yuan-hsiang (張淵翔), in connection with an investigation into forged signatures used in recall campaigns. Chang is suspected of accessing a household registration system to assist with recall campaigns targeting Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) city councilors Cheng Wen-ting (鄭文婷) and Jiho Chang (張之豪), prosecutors said. Prosecutors yesterday directed investigators to search six locations, including the Chinese Nationalist Party’s (KMT) Keelung office and the residences of several recall campaign leaders. The recall campaign leaders, including Chi Wen-chuan (紀文荃), Yu Cheng-i (游正義) and Hsu Shao-yeh
COVID-19 infections have climbed for three consecutive weeks and are likely to reach another peak between next month and June, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said yesterday. Weekly hospital visits for the disease increased by 19 percent from the previous week, CDC Epidemic Intelligence Center Director Guo Hung-wei (郭宏偉) said. From Tuesday last week to yesterday, 21 cases of severe COVID-19 and seven deaths were confirmed, and from Sept. 1 last year to yesterday, there were 600 cases and 129 deaths, he said. From Oct. 1 last year to yesterday, 95.9 percent of the severe cases and 96.7 percent of the deaths