US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in a statement published on Wednesday urged the WHO to invite Taiwan to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer.
The US “strongly encourages the WHO to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at this year’s WHA so the world may once again benefit from Taiwan’s expertise and experience,” the statement said.
The WHA, themed “All for Health, Health for All,” is to take place from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Photo: AFP
Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA since 2017, as China has become more aggressive in opposing the nation’s participation in international forums after President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May 2016.
“Inviting Taiwan to observe the WHA is a critically important step toward affirming the WHO’s goal of ‘Health for All,’” Blinken said.
With “exceptional capabilities and approaches,” Taiwan has repeatedly demonstrated “a capability and willingness to help address global health crises and support the global health community,” he said.
Photo: Liu Hsin-de, Taipei Times
Excluding Taiwan from the WHA “undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands — and urgently needs,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan yesterday called on the nation’s diplomatic allies to support its involvement in the WHO pandemic agreement.
WHO member states are to discuss the world’s first pandemic agreement during the WHA.
The agreement includes mechanisms such as transfers of technology and know-how, access and benefit sharing, and a global supply chain and logistics network to facilitate information sharing and provide technological support during global pandemics.
Taiwan should strive for the opportunity to be a contracting party to the agreement, foundation executive director Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉) told a forum in Taipei.
The nation can solicit support from its allies to negotiate on allowing all countries, economies and health entities to join the agreement, Lin said.
If Taiwan cannot take part in the agreement, it should still hope to take part in the meetings and the contracting parties’ technical mechanisms as an observer, she said.
The revised draft of the agreement, which was released in March, states that the document “shall be open for signature by all states and by regional economic integration organizations.”
Taiwan should seek to participate as a member of regional organizations, National Taiwan University College of Public Health professor Tony Chen (陳秀熙) said.
Separately, the Oklahoma Legislature and the Illinois House of Representatives this week passed resolutions to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
The Oklahoma Senate introduced a concurrent resolution, which was adopted by both of its chambers on Wednesday, to encourage “further economic ties and friendship between the state of Oklahoma and Taiwan.”
The state supports Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations, including the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework for Prosperity, the International Civil Aviation Organization, the International Criminal Police Organization and many others, the bill says.
Oklahoma and the rest of the US “have benefited immeasurably through decades of unwavering friendship with Taiwan, and the wider world is sure to reap tremendous rewards as Taiwan works to enhance its presence in the international community,” it says.
Illinois Representative William Davis, cochair of the state’s Taiwan Friendship Caucus, proposed a resolution to reaffirm the state’s commitment to boosting ties with Taiwan.
The Illinois bill also voices support for the nation’s meaningful participation in international organizations, as well as “Taiwan’s aspiration to make more contributions in international societies.”
Adopting a policy of “steadfast diplomacy,” Taiwan “is capable of fulfilling, and willing to fulfill, its responsibilities and to collaborate with the world to deal with the challenges of humanitarian aid, disease control, and so forth,” it says.
The bill was adopted by the Illinois House on Tuesday.
Additional reporting by CNA
The Philippines is working behind the scenes to enhance its defensive cooperation with Taiwan, the Washington Post said in a report published on Monday. “It would be hiding from the obvious to say that Taiwan’s security will not affect us,” Philippine Secretary of National Defense Gilbert Teodoro Jr told the paper in an interview on Thursday last week. Although there has been no formal change to the Philippines’ diplomatic stance on recognizing Taiwan, Manila is increasingly concerned about Chinese encroachment in the South China Sea, the report said. The number of Chinese vessels in the seas around the Philippines, as well as Chinese
‘A SERIOUS THREAT’: Japan has expressed grave concern over the Strait’s security over the years, which demonstrated Tokyo’s firm support for peace in the area, an official said China’s military drills around Taiwan are “incompatible” with peace and stability in the Taiwan Strait, Japanese Minister of Foreign Affairs Takeshi Iwaya said during a meeting with his Chinese counterpart Wang Yi (王毅) on Thursday. “Peace and stability across the Taiwan Strait is important for the international community, including Japan,” Iwaya told Wang during a meeting on the sidelines of the ASEAN-related Foreign Ministers’ Meetings in Kuala Lumpur. “China’s large-scale military drills around Taiwan are incompatible with this,” a statement released by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday cited Iwaya as saying. The Foreign Ministers’ Meetings are a series of diplomatic
URBAN COMBAT: FIM-92 Stinger shoulder-fired missiles from the US made a rare public appearance during early-morning drills simulating an invasion of the Taipei MRT The ongoing Han Kuang military exercises entered their sixth day yesterday, simulating repelling enemy landings in Penghu County, setting up fortifications in Tainan, laying mines in waters in Kaohsiung and conducting urban combat drills in Taipei. At 5am in Penghu — part of the exercise’s first combat zone — participating units responded to a simulated rapid enemy landing on beaches, combining infantry as well as armored personnel. First Combat Zone Commander Chen Chun-yuan (陳俊源) led the combined armed troops utilizing a variety of weapons systems. Wang Keng-sheng (王鏗勝), the commander in charge of the Penghu Defense Command’s mechanized battalion, said he would give
‘REALISTIC’ APPROACH: The ministry said all the exercises were scenario-based and unscripted to better prepare personnel for real threats and unexpected developments The army’s 21st Artillery Command conducted a short-range air defense drill in Taoyuan yesterday as part of the Han Kuang exercises, using the indigenous Sky Sword II (陸射劍二) missile system for the first time in the exercises. The armed forces have been conducting a series of live-fire and defense drills across multiple regions, simulating responses to a full-scale assault by Chinese forces, the Ministry of National Defense said. The Sky Sword II missile system was rapidly deployed and combat-ready within 15 minutes to defend Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in a simulated attack, the ministry said. A three-person crew completed setup and
RSS