The US House of Representatives on Thursday passed legislation giving the US Senate the power to approve WHO agreements, which also included an amendment supporting Taiwan’s full participation at the WHO.
The No WHO Pandemic Preparedness Treaty Without Senate Approval Act, which ensures that any pandemic-related convention of the WHO that attempts to bind the US must be ratified by the US Senate as a treaty, cleared the legislative floor by a bipartisan vote of 219-199.
The act was introduced by Republican US Representative Tom Tiffany to limit the WHO’s influence after the body received strong criticism for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic and close ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Also included in the bill is an amendment proposed by Republican US Representative Andy Ogles that offers a statement of US policy in support of “Taiwan’s full participation at the WHO.”
Ogle’s amendment passed with a unanimous vote of 403-0, with 34 abstentions.
“For far too long, we [the US] have allowed communist China to dictate the course of US foreign policy, as well as the agenda and membership of every major international organization, including the United Nations,” Ogles said.
“Decades upon decades of giving in to China has left Taiwan with fewer and fewer allies. In the late 1990s, over 30 countries recognized Taiwan. Now the number is down to 12,” he added.
Citing China’s continuing pressure campaign against Taiwan, the lawmaker said no one listened when the latter tried to “warn the WHO of possible human-to-human transmission of the coronavirus on Dec. 31, 2019,” adding that the world health body subsequently released a statement saying that there was no clear evidence of such a thing.
Due to this, the US lost weeks of preparation against the “ravaging effects of the COVID-19 pandemic,” all because “communist China told the world that under no circumstance could Taiwan be given a seat at the table” at the WHO, Ogles said.
His amendment in support of Taiwan was also echoed by Democratic House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee ranking member Gregory Meeks, who described Taiwan as a US ally, “a democracy and a critical part of the international community.”
However, Meeks was more reserved about Taiwan’s full participation at the WHO.
“I agree with Mr Ogle’s amendment, but I do think, however, that we should be precise and careful in how we talk about important policy matters,” he said.
“Taiwan should be contributing its expertise and participating as an observer in the World Health Assembly,” as in line with the US’ “one China” policy, he added.
The US House this week has passed several pro-Taiwan bills, including the Pacific Partnership Act, which aims to strengthen cooperation with Taiwan and the Pacific Islands Forum, and the Taiwan Conflict Deterrence Act, which aims to disincentivize Chinese aggression toward Taiwan by cutting Chinese leaders off from the US financial system if Beijing acts against Taiwan.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
The government is considering polices to increase rental subsidies for people living in social housing who get married and have children, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. During an interview with the Plain Law Movement (法律白話文) podcast, Cho said that housing prices cannot be brought down overnight without affecting banks and mortgages. Therefore, the government is focusing on providing more aid for young people by taking 3 to 5 percent of urban renewal projects and zone expropriations and using that land for social housing, he said. Single people living in social housing who get married and become parents could obtain 50 percent more
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
RSS