Germany’s Bundestag on Thursday adopted a resolution calling on Berlin to push for Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities, as a delegation of Taiwanese legislators yesterday left for Switzerland to advocate for Taiwan on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly (WHA).
The resolution, backed by lawmakers across party lines, urges the German government to work within the UN’s health agency to advocate for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA and relevant WHO mechanisms and activities as an observer.
It also calls on the government to report to the Bundestag regularly about its efforts to support Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities.
Photo: Reuters
In Taipei, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday said it was significant that the Bundestag, backed by four parliamentary groups in support of Taiwan, passed the resolution.
Taiwan looks forward to working with the German government and parliament to deepen bilateral ties and contribute to peace and stability in the Indo-Pacific region, it said in a statement.
Ulrich Lechte, a spokesperson for the Free Democratic Party (FDP) parliamentary group, was cited by German media as saying that Taiwan could play an important role in the WHO and that its exclusion because of Chinese pressure must end.
Photo: Yang Cheng-yu, Taipei Times
The FDP was one of the four party caucuses that cosponsored the resolution, along with the Social Democratic Party, CDU/CSU and Bundnis 90/Die Grunen.
Taiwan has yet to receive an invitation to this year’s WHA, which is to be held from Sunday to Saturday next week in Geneva, Switzerland.
A group of cross-party legislators yesterday left for Geneva to voice Taiwan’s hope to participate in international discussions during the 75th WHA.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀), Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators Lee De-wei (李德維) and Jessica Chen (陳玉珍), and New Power Party Legislator Claire Wang (王婉諭) formed the observation group, which is scheduled to return to Taiwan on Thursday next week.
Wang told a news conference yesterday that she would condemn the WHO for succumbing to Chinese pressure and excluding Taiwan.
“As a sovereign state, Taiwan should be able to participate in global organizations such as the WHO,” she said, adding that during the trip, she would let other democracies know that Taiwan is an important partner and would fight for more opportunities to participate.
Lin, who is a doctor, said that they would watch live broadcasts of the meetings to listen to experts discuss the post-COVID-19 pandemic world.
She said they hoped to visit some local groups, but could not reveal details for fear of Chinese intervention.
The group is also to present Taiwan’s efforts in COVID-19 prevention to Taiwanese expatriates, as many have been asking when policies would be relaxed, she added.
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
China on Wednesday teased in a video an aircraft carrier that could be its fourth, and the first using nuclear power, while making an allusion to Taiwan and vowing to further build up its islands, as it looks to boost maritime power, secure resources and bolster territorial claims. The video, issued on the eve of the 77th founding anniversary of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy, featured fictional officers with names that are homophones of three commissioned aircraft carriers, the Liaoning (遼寧), Shandong (山東) and Fujian (福建). Titled Into the Deep, it showed a 19-year-old named “Hejian” (何劍) joining the group, sparking
ESWATINI TRIP: The ‘irresponsible actions’ of three African nations set a dangerous precedent and they should be held accountable, a US representative said The US Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Thursday urged Washington not to normalize Chinese pressure, while a US lawmaker called on the US government to hold countries accountable for yielding to Beijing’s pressure to block President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned trip to Eswatini. Lai had been scheduled to visit Eswatini to attend birthday events for King Mswati III of Eswatini this week, but on Tuesday, the eve of his planned departure on Wednesday, the Presidential Office said the trip was “suspended” after the Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar unexpectedly withdrew overflight permission. “China reportedly pressured Mauritius, Seychelles, and Madagascar to deny airspace access
RSS