President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday called on the UN and other international organizations to recognize Taiwanese’s right to health.
Tsai made the remarks at the Presidential Office during a meeting with European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan chairman Giuseppe Izzo.
Taiwan is being left out of worldwide disease prevention efforts directed by the WHO and the International Civil Aviation Organization for political reasons.
Photo: CNA
Disease prevention is a global affair and Taiwan should not be left out of disease prevention efforts, especially at this crucial moment when it is on the front line of a dangerous epidemic, Tsai said.
She thanked the EU for standing up on behalf of Taiwan in its bid to participate in the WHO, and said the nation is ready and eager to make contributions to international society.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislative caucus yesterday issued a statement calling on China to support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHO’s decisionmaking body.
Several countries supporting Taiwan’s participation in the two bodies means that there is a general understanding that it would be impossible to minimize the risk posed by the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak without a concerted international effort, the statement said.
Taiwan is not the center of the world, but global prevention efforts cannot do without its cooperation, it said.
If China really cares “more than anyone” about the health of Taiwanese as it has said, it should let go of considerations unrelated to outbreak prevention and support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and the WHA, the statement said.
Important data and information possessed by Taiwan have been rejected by the WHO and WHA, leading to a hole in the emergency objective of facing and solving the problem together, potentially allowing the situation to get out of control, it said, adding that China would be to blame.
While protecting the health and well-being of humans is a universal value, and all countries work toward strengthening people’s healthcare rights, there would be a major gap in the emergency situation due to China’s “selfish considerations,” the lawmakers said.
The caucus strongly condemns China’s abuse of political factors and ideology to suppress Taiwan’s opportunity to participate in the WHO and the WHA, it said, calling the move “heartless.”
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