The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday expressed its gratitude for a statement released by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken supporting Taiwan’s bid to take part in the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) this month.
It was the third consecutive year that the US’ top diplomat has backed Taiwan’s bid to participate in the decisionmaking body of the WHO, actions that Taiwan welcomes and is grateful for, the ministry said in a statement.
Taiwan would continue to work closely with the US and other like-minded countries to contribute to global pandemic control and public health affairs, it said.
Photo: Reuters
The ministry was responding to a statement issued by Blinken on Tuesday in which he said that the US strongly encourages the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer at this year’s WHA meeting, “so it may lend its expertise to the discussions.”
“Inviting Taiwan as an observer would exemplify the WHO’s commitment to an inclusive, ‘health for all’ approach to international health cooperation,” Blinken said in the statement.
He said Taiwan is a “highly capable, engaged and responsible member of the global health community, and has been invited to participate as an observer in previous WHA meetings.”
“Taiwan’s distinct capabilities and approaches — including its significant public health expertise, democratic governance and advanced technology — bring considerable value that would inform the WHA’s deliberations,” he said.
He said that Taiwan’s isolation from the WHA was “unjustified, and undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands.”
Similar appeals in past years by the US and other countries have fallen on deaf ears, as China has successfully blocked Taiwan’s participation from the meeting since 2017.
This year the WHA is to hold its annual meeting from May 21 to 30 in Geneva, Switzerland, to discuss global public health priorities.
Taiwan was expelled from the WHO in 1972 after it lost its seat in the UN due to the issue of “China’s representation.”
Since then, Taiwan has not been able to attend the WHA — except from 2009 to 2016 — due to objections from China.
Asked about the possibility of Taiwan being invited to this year’s WHA, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said in Taipei that the ministry is still working on the issue, while thanking the US for its long-term support.
A growing number of “like-minded countries” are joining the effort alongside the US, and support for Taiwan at the WHA is expected to reach its highest level in the past few years, Wu said on the sidelines of a legislative session.
Separately, Wu said that having President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) attend the APEC leaders’ meeting in November would be “extremely difficult.”
APEC makes its decisions based on consensus, meaning that all of its members would have to approve such an invitation, or at least not raise objections to Tsai’s participation, Wu told lawmakers.
That means it would be “extremely difficult” for Tsai to take part, Wu said, an apparent reference to China’s membership.
Wu was responding to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Liu Shyh-fang (劉世芳) after 21 US representatives called for Taiwan to be represented at the annual summit by Tsai instead of a proxy, as has been the case in previous years.
In a letter to Blinken dated April 18, the Republican signatories, led by US Representative Lance Gooden of Texas, said that prohibiting Taiwan from sending its president to the leaders’ summit was “tantamount to the US asking China for a permission slip to conduct bilateral foreign relations.”
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