The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday thanked the World Medical Association (WMA) for supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, which it again called on to maintain a professional and neutral stance and reject political interference from China.
The WMA General Assembly was held online in London from Monday through Friday.
The Chinese Medical Doctor Association (CMDA) raised a motion to prevent Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, but the motion was rejected 99-19 in a vote.
Photo: Reuters
The general assembly voted 91-16 in favor of a resolution supporting Taiwan’s participation in all WHO health programs, as well as the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decisionmaking body.
The WMA is the world’s largest international organization representing physicians and consists of 115 national medical associations, the ministry said, adding that it has maintained close relations with the Taiwan Medical Association for many years.
The WMA in May 2005 adopted a resolution supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and its inclusion in the International Health Regulations (IHR) mechanism, and the latest resolution is of great significance, the ministry said.
The proposal submitted by Taiwan this year was approved by the WMA’s professional committees and the WMA Council, before being submitted to the general assembly to be voted on, it said.
The CMDA tried to interfere with Taiwan’s proposal, but fortunately most of the WMA’s constituent members were consistent in supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, the ministry said.
The resolution represents the competence and conscience of physicians worldwide, highlights the importance of Taiwan’s participation in the WHO to the global health network, and shows that the quality of Taiwan’s healthcare and the nation’s success in fighting COVID-19 under a democratic model has been recognized globally, the ministry added.
Democratic Progressive Party spokeswoman Hsieh Pei-fen (謝佩芬) yesterday said that the party expresses its sincere gratitude to the WMA, as the resolution not only shows support for Taiwan, but also a growing force of goodness from around the world.
Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the Central Epidemic Command Center, said the center expresses its gratitude to the like-minded countries in the WMA that supported Taiwan.
ELIGIBLE FOR JANUARY: All presidential candidates and their running mates meet the requirements to run for office, and none hold dual citizenship, the CEC said Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Legislator and vice presidential candidate Cynthia Wu (吳欣盈) is working with the Central Election Commission (CEC) to resolve issues with her financial disclosure statement, a spokesman for the candidate said yesterday, after the commission published the statements of all three presidential candidates and their running mates, while confirming their eligibility to run in the Jan. 13 election. Wu’s office spokesman, Chen Yu-cheng (陳宥丞), said the candidate encountered unforeseen difficulties disclosing her husband’s finances due to being suddenly thrust into the campaign. She is also the first vice presidential nominee to have a foreign spouse, complicating the reporting of
GOOD NEWS: Although open civic spaces are shrinking in Asia-Pacific countries and territories, Taiwan’s openness is a positive sign, an expert said Taiwan remains the only country in Asia with an “open” civic space for the fifth consecutive year, the Civicus Monitor said in a report released yesterday. The People Power Under Attack 2023 report named Taiwan as one of only 37 open countries or territories out of 198 globally, and the only one in Asia. Compiled by Civicus — a global alliance of civil society organizations dedicated to bolstering civil action — the ranking compiled annually since 2017 measures the state of freedom of association, peaceful assembly and expression around the world. Researchers assign each country or territory one of five rankings describing the
NOT JUST CHIPS: Although semiconductor processes are on the list, it also includes military technology and post-quantum cryptography to combat emerging cyberthreats The National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) yesterday released a list of 22 technologies it considers crucial to the nation’s security and competitiveness, including the 14-nanometer semiconductor process and advanced chip packaging. For the first time, the council made a list of core technologies with an aim of preventing secret information about those technologies being leaked to foreign countries, which could put the nation’s security and the competitiveness of local industries at risk. For years, local semiconductor companies have faced challenges from talent poaching and theft of corporate secrets by Chinese competitors, who are seeking to rapidly advance their technology capabilities through
Japanese are more likely to view China as a major threat than Taiwanese, although both sides agree that Beijing’s power and influence are the most concerning geopolitical hazard, a Pew Research Center poll showed on Tuesday. From June 2 to Sept. 17, Pew researchers polled respondents in Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Hong Kong on perceived threats posed by China, the US, Russia and North Korea. China’s power and influence was considered the greatest threat above North Korea’s nuclear weapons program, or US or Russian influence, the report said. Japanese respondents showed the most concern over China, with 76 percent calling it a
RSS