A Taiwanese legislator has told the Czech media of Taiwan's urgent need to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) and urged them to support the country's WHA bid.
Parris Chang (張旭成) made the remarks Friday while meeting with senior editors from leading Czech newspapers and television stations at a gathering presided over by Roy Wu (烏元彥), Taiwan's representative to the Czech Republic.
Chang and Legislator Liu Sung-pan (
Saying that the goal of the delegation is to strengthen bilateral relations between Taipei and Prague, Chang told reporters that the delegation is also seeking support from the Czech government for Taiwan's bid to gain observer status in the WHA, which is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).
He reiterated the position that joining the WHO is a fundamental human right rather than a political issue.
Saying that the delegation's visit to Europe is for the good of all mankind, Liu also called for the global disease prevention system to cooperate with the global information system and advance warning system to fight against SARS and other diseases.
Meanwhile, Legislator Chien Chao-Tong (
He added that in contrast, China has not only hidden the full extent of its SARS outbreak but has also caused the spread of the disease.
China's Health Minister Zhang Wenkang tried to prevent Taiwan from participating in last year's WHA annual meeting and told the WHA participants that no "health entity" can join the WHA, after Taiwan's government expressed hope that it could join the body in that capacity.
According to the WHO, however, such entities as the Vatican, the Red Cross and the Palestine Liberation Organization have been accorded observer status at the WHA.
Noting that despite the fact that more than 100 countries around the world are WHO members, the members of the delegation told the Czech media that several countries have still been refused membership.
Taiwan is a member of the international community and hopes to be able to provide other countries with its development experience, they said, adding however that the island also needs help from the international community and the WHO in terms of SARS and enterovirus prevention.
In related news, Puerto Rico's secretary of state has said that the US territory supports Taiwan's bid for observer status at the WHO.
Secretary of State Ferdinand Mercado offered the Caribbean island's support during a meeting Friday with officials of Taiwan's Economic and Commercial Office in Miami, Puerto Rico's government said in a written statement.
``As an associate member of the WHO, Puerto Rico has benefited,'' Mercado was quoted as saying in the statement.
``We consider it important that Taiwan has similar rights to enter as an observer member,'' he said.
Last month, US. lawmakers passed bills backing Taiwan's request for an observer seat at the World Health Assembly, the WHO's chief decision-making forum.
Taiwan's bid to participate in the WHO is a sensitive issue for China because Beijing says that Taiwan is Chinese territory and opposes its participation in world bodies requiring members to be nations.
China has criticized American lawmakers for supporting Taiwan's bid for observer status at a key meeting of the UN agency next month in Geneva.s
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