Taiwan’s diplomatic allies and other countries spoke up for the nation on the first day of the World Health Assembly (WHA), which decided not to include a motion on Taiwan’s inclusion on its agenda.
Eleven of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies that are WHO member states proposed a supplementary agenda item calling on the WHA to invite Taiwan to participate in the assembly as an observer.
During a debate on Monday on whether to include the item in the WHA’s agenda, Belizean Minister of Health Kevin Bernard said that excluding Taiwan from WHO activities due to political pressure from China is unjust.
Photo: AFP
“Taiwan’s expertise and resources can significantly enhance global health outcomes benefiting all nations,” Bernard said.
For the WHO to realize its objective of “health for all,” it must invite Taiwan to participate in the WHA, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment St Clair Prince said.
The health ministers of the Marshall Islands and Saint Lucia also praised Taiwan as a responsible partner that can make important contributions to the world, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Meanwhile, representatives from Pakistan and Cuba cited China’s “one China principle” and its misinterpretation of UN Resolution 2758 to oppose the proposal.
The ministry expressed “deep regret and dissatisfaction” that the WHA decided against including the item in its agenda.
Resolution 2758 was adopted by the 26th UN General Assembly in 1971 to solve the issue of China’s representation in the UN system.
The resolution does not state that Taiwan is part of the People’s Republic of China and does not authorize Beijing to represent Taiwan in the UN system, the ministry’s Department of International Organizations Deputy Director-General Greg Lee (李冠德) told a regular news briefing yesterday.
The “one China principle” espoused by China is by no means the universal consensus and practice of the international community, he said, adding that Beijing ignores the health rights of the people of Taiwan and the world.
Meanwhile, the ministry thanked the representatives of France, the UK, Germany, Australia, the Netherlands and the EU for voicing support for Taiwan during their respective addresses at the WHA’s plenary meeting.
France is “in favor of the participation of Taiwan in the works of this assembly,” French Minister Delegate in Charge of Health and Prevention Frederic Valletoux said.
The UK believes “Taiwan should once again become an observer to this assembly, and to be granted meaningful access to all relevant technical meetings, as was the case until 2016,” British Minister of Health Nick Markham said.
“We all need to stand together using everyone’s expertise, including Taiwan’s, to master the challenges ahead of us,” German Federal Minister of Health Karl Lauterbach said.
Canberra underlined the importance of “working with all partners, including Taiwan” as health is a human right shared by all, Australian Minister for Health and Aged Care Mark Butler said.
Officials from Belgium, which holds the Council of the EU presidency, and the Netherlands also called for inclusion in the WHA, showing support for Taiwan even though they did not mention Taiwan by name, Lee said.
The ministry urged the WHO to adhere to the principles of professionalism and neutrality, as well as the objective of the WHO Charter, Lee said, adding that the call for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and WHA should be taken seriously and China’s obstruction due to political reasons should be resolutely rejected.
Taiwan should be included in the WHA as an observer as soon as possible and allowed to participate in all WHO meetings, mechanisms and activities on a regular basis, he said.
Additional reporting by CNA
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The Legislative Yuan’s Finance Committee yesterday approved proposed amendments to the Amusement Tax Act (娛樂稅法) that would abolish taxes on films, cultural activities and competitive sporting events, retaining the fee only for dance halls and golf courses. The proposed changes would set the maximum tax rate for dance halls and golf courses at 50 and 20 percent respectively, with local governments authorized to suspend the levies. Article 2 of the act says that “amusement tax shall be levied on tickets sold or fees charged by amusement places, facilities or activities” in six categories: “Cinema; professional singing, story-telling, dancing, circus, magic show, acrobatics
INFLATION UP? The IMF said CPI would increase to 1.5 percent this year, while the DGBAS projected it would rise to 1.68 percent, with GDP per capita of US$44,181 The IMF projected Taiwan’s real GDP would grow 5.2 percent this year, up from its 2.1 percent outlook in January, despite fears of global economic disruptions sparked by the US-Iran conflict. Taiwan’s consumer price index (CPI) is projected to increase to 1.5 percent, while unemployment would be 3.4 percent, roughly in line with estimates for Asia as a whole, the international body wrote in its Global Economic Outlook Report published in the US on Monday. The figures are comparatively better than the IMF outlook for the rest of the world, which pegged real GDP growth at 3.1 percent, down from 3.3 percent
RSS