US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Friday urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, saying that China’s objections are to blame for Taiwan’s exclusion from the organization.
Blinken’s remarks came after the French Senate on Thursday passed a resolution 304-0 backing Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, including the WHO, and after the G7 foreign ministers backed Taiwan’s WHA bid in a joint communique on Wednesday.
The 74th WHA is to take place virtually from May 24 to June 1. Taiwan participated as an observer from 2009 to 2016, but has since been denied entry.
Photo: AFP
“Unless the organization’s leadership takes appropriate action, the assembly will once again exclude the vital participation of Taiwan,” Blinken said.
“There is no reasonable justification for Taiwan’s continued exclusion from this forum, and the United States calls upon the WHO director-general to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer at the WHA — as it has in previous years, prior to objections registered by the government of the People’s Republic of China,” he said.
“WHO leadership and all responsible nations should recognize that excluding the interests of 24 million people at the WHA serves only to imperil, not advance, our shared global health objectives,” he added.
“Taiwan is a reliable partner, a vibrant democracy and a force for good in the world, and its exclusion from the WHA would be detrimental to our collective international efforts to get the pandemic under control and prevent future health crises,” he said.
“We urge Taiwan’s immediate invitation to the World Health Assembly,” Blinken said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked Blinken for repeatedly voicing support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA.
The US has never ceased in its support for Taiwan’s WHA bid, with its support stronger this year than ever, the ministry said in a statement, adding that Washington has been a bellwether in leading other countries to voice support for Taiwan.
The nation welcomes more countries to work with Taiwan to “go beyond politics” and protect universal health, it said.
Taiwan has been striving to join international organizations related to healthcare and medicine, but encountered irrational obstacles and pressure from China, Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) said separately.
The nation thanks the US, France and other major powers for supporting it and affirming its achievements in healthcare, Lo said, adding that it would continue to deepen relations with like-minded countries.
Separately, the leaders of Taiwan’s three Caribbean allies also urged the WHO to allow Taiwan’s participation in the WHA. They made the calls through pre-recorded videos provided by their embassies in Taiwan.
“It makes absolutely no sense to exclude Taiwan” from the WHA, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph E. Gonsalves said, adding that excluding the nation would “limit the effectiveness of that assembly and the operations of the World Health Organization.”
“Leave the politics out, this is about health,” he said.
Saint Kitts and Nevis Minister of Foreign Affairs Mark Brantley said that Taiwan should be included in the WHA so that it can play a role in international affairs.
“Taiwan has demonstrated throughout this COVID-19 pandemic that it is a global leader,” Brantley said, adding that Taiwan has “set global standards in handling this pandemic.”
“Taiwan has proved itself to be a successful model in the global fight against the pandemic, not just by successful management of the spread, but also by helping other countries, including my country Saint Lucia, to combat the outbreak,” Saint Lucia Minister of Health Mary Isaac said, adding that it is time to “let Taiwan help.”
Additional reporting by Lee Hsin-fang and CNA
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique