US President George Bush signed into law a Senate bill on Monday aimed at pushing for observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Assembly (WHA) -- the policy-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO) -- according to White House officials.
Bush's signing of the bill, S 2092, passed unanimously by the Senate on May 6, makes support for Taiwan's WHO bid a long-term US policy, and is seen as a shot in the arm for Taiwan's longstanding efforts to take part in the activities of the WHO.
In a statement on the signing of the bill into law, Bush said that the US fully supports the participation of Taiwan in the work of the WHO, including observer status.
"The United States has expressed publicly its firm support for Taiwan's observer status and will continue to do so," Bush said.
He said in the statement that the US government's "one China" policy remains unchanged.
The bill, initiated by Senator George Ellen, authorizes the Bush administration to support and assist Taiwan's bid to obtain observer status at the annual conference of the WHA.
Ellen is a co-chairman of the US Taiwan Caucus.
The bill, introduced jointly by 13 senators for a vote by the full Senate, was first approved by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on April 29.
According to the bill, the US secretary of state is required to submit a non-confidential report to Congress before every April 1 detailing measures the government has taken to help Taipei gain observer status in the WHA.
The bill also requests that the secretary of state submit an unclassified report to Congress within 30 days after the passage of the bill and before every April 1 describing the plans and measures the administration has taken to help Taiwan gain observer status in the WHA.
Meanwhile, the House of Representatives on April 21 passed a similar bill 416-0 to express its support for Taipei joining the WHA as an observer.
The House bill calls on the secretary of state to report to Congress annually on progress toward developing and implementing the plan to help Taiwan enter the WHO.
Taiwan tried for the eighth straight year to gain observer status in the WHA at the assembly's annual gathering last month but failed again, despite an increasing number of nations publicly voicing their support for Taipei, including Japan and the US.
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