WHO bid supporters thanked

Taiwan's representative office in New York on Friday thanked Nicaragua and 13 other countries for their "timely and courageous" assistance to Taiwan as it tries to join the WHO as an observer. Permanent representatives at the UN from Grenada, Gambia, Nauru, Swaziland, Honduras and other diplomatic allies of Taiwan have jointly sent a letter to their colleagues from other countries urging them to share "objective information" about Taiwan's desire to participate as an observer in the World Health Assembly. "It is clear to us that the ROC's aspiration is of a humanitarian and health nature; nevertheless, it can be easily mistaken and addressed only as a political issue," they said in the letter addressed to their UN colleagues and counterparts. The letter, issued on May 6, was also sent to UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Gro Harlem Brundtland, the executive director of the WHO.