The government is set to hold a news conference today to explain its response measures if the nation does not receive an invitation to attend the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) after the deadline for online registration ends today, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
This year’s WHA, an annual meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is to take place from May 22 to May 31 in Geneva, Switzerland, but the nation has not received an invitation from the WHO secretariat.
Since 2009, Taiwan has attended as an observer under the name “Chinese Taipei” following an agreement between the government of then-president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), Beijing and the WHO.
However, due to a cooling of cross-strait relations after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year, the nation received an invitation to last year’s summit shortly before the deadline for online registration ended.
For the first time since 2009, that invitation sparked controversy because it mentioned UN Resolution 2758, WHA Resolution 25.1 and the “one China” principle underlying the two documents.
Also yesterday, the Taiwan United Nations Alliance announced that it is to hold a news conference today to outline its plans to send a promotional team to Geneva on Friday next week to lobby for the nation’s entry into the WHO ahead of its general assembly.
Following past practice, the alliance’s team would continue to promote Taiwan’s bid for membership in the WHO near the venue of the WHA this year by distributing leaflets, a spokesperson for the team said.
No new progress has been made in efforts to get an invitation to attend this year’s WHA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
Despite that, several nations friendly toward Taiwan which share similar ideals, including the US and Canada, have voiced their support for Taiwan’s presence as an observer, the ministry said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lee (李大維) has said that the nation will fight at full strength until the last minute for the invitation.
The Central Weather Administration (CWA) today issued a sea warning for Typhoon Fung-wong effective from 5:30pm, while local governments canceled school and work for tomorrow. A land warning is expected to be issued tomorrow morning before it is expected to make landfall on Wednesday, the agency said. Taoyuan, and well as Yilan, Hualien and Penghu counties canceled work and school for tomorrow, as well as mountainous district of Taipei and New Taipei City. For updated information on closures, please visit the Directorate-General of Personnel Administration Web site. As of 5pm today, Fung-wong was about 490km south-southwest of Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), Taiwan's southernmost point.
Almost a quarter of volunteer soldiers who signed up from 2021 to last year have sought early discharge, the Legislative Yuan’s Budget Center said in a report. The report said that 12,884 of 52,674 people who volunteered in the period had sought an early exit from the military, returning NT$895.96 million (US$28.86 million) to the government. In 2021, there was a 105.34 percent rise in the volunteer recruitment rate, but the number has steadily declined since then, missing recruitment targets, the Chinese-language United Daily News said, citing the report. In 2021, only 521 volunteers dropped out of the military, the report said, citing
A magnitude 5.3 earthquake struck Kaohsiung at 1pm today, the Central Weather Administration said. The epicenter was in Jiasian District (甲仙), 72.1km north-northeast of Kaohsiung City Hall, at a depth of 7.8km, agency data showed. There were no immediate reports of damage. The earthquake's intensity, which gauges the actual effects of a temblor, was highest in Kaohsiung and Tainan, where it measured a 4 on Taiwan's seven-tier intensity scale. It also measured a 3 in parts of Chiayi City, as well as Pingtung, Yunlin and Hualien counties, data showed.
Nearly 5 million people have signed up to receive the government’s NT$10,000 (US$322) universal cash handout since registration opened on Wednesday last week, with deposits expected to begin tomorrow, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. After a staggered sign-up last week — based on the final digit of the applicant’s national ID or Alien Resident Certificate number — online registration is open to all eligible Taiwanese nationals, foreign permanent residents and spouses of Taiwanese nationals. Banks are expected to start issuing deposits from 6pm today, the ministry said. Those who completed registration by yesterday are expected to receive their NT$10,000 tomorrow, National Treasury
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