The annual effort in the US Congress to prod the White House to support Taiwan's participation in the WHO kicked off Wednesday when nine members of the House of Representatives introduced a bill to get the State Department moving on the issue.
The congressmen introduced a bill in the House that would "authorize" the department to devise a plan to endorse Taipei's position as an observe at this May's annual meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva.
The bill would also have the department instruct the US delegation to the assembly to implement that plan. If the bill is enacted, the department would then have 14 days to draw up and submit to Congress the details of the plan.
Among the nine sponsors of the bill were the four co-chairmen of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus, the organization which was formed last spring to promote Taiwan's interests on Capitol Hill and educate Congress on Taiwanese issues.
"The time for Taiwan's entrance into the WHO is now," said Sherrod Brown, a Democrat who has introduced such legislation into the House for several years, and who is one of the nation's biggest supporters in Congress.
"Taiwan has been a most important contributor of resources to control the spread of HIV/AIDS and other infectious diseases," Brown noted.
"In today's interconnected world, it is simply unconscionable for any population to be excluded from WHO interaction and protection.
"The health of each of us is dependent on the health of all," Brown said.
While no US or Taiwanese official or lawmaker seriously expects Taiwan to gain observer status in the WHO this year, in view of China's unrelenting and powerful efforts to reject Taipei's bid, they feel that by keeping up the pressure on the US government and other governments they can win points by convincing more and more WHO members to vote for their participation.
The House legislation's text notes that President George W. Bush in May 2001 wrote to then senator Frank Murkowski of Alaska that "the United States should find opportunities for Taiwan's voice to be heard in international organizations in order to make a contribution, even if membership is not possible."
Bush also said his administration "has focused on finding concrete ways for Taiwan to benefit and contribute to the WHO.
Last May, the bill says, Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson told a global medical association that the US "supports Taiwan's efforts to gain observership status" in the WHO and that "the people of Taiwan deserve the same level of public health as citizens of every nation on earth."
The congressional legislation comes in the wake of the week-long Geneva meeting of the WHO Executive Committee, which, as in earlier years, rejected a bid to put Taipei's observer status on the agenda for the May meeting.
In response to the expected rejection, the Taiwanese delegation has reportedly taken a new tactic this year, keeping a low profile during the agenda-setting meeting in favor of bringing up the issue directly during the May World Health Assembly annual meeting.
As recently reported, Taiwan has also decided to hire foreign lawyers familiar with the operation of the WHO to help it push for participation in a more effective manner.
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