A former senior Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) official yesterday criticized Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) after documentation showed Taiwan was listed as part of Chinese territory.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and his administration have feted the nation’s admission to the WHA last year as a sign that cross-strait ties have improved and that Taiwan’s international space is increasing.
Department of Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang (楊志良) is set to represent Taiwan at this year’s WHA, from May 17 to May 22, as a minister from “Chinese Taipei.”
Former vice minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂), however, said Taiwan was only able to attend the WHA because of an agreement with China that could set a dangerous precedent and seriously undermine Taiwan’s sovereignty.
He also said that a quick search for Taiwan in WHO documents still produced multiple examples of Taiwan being listed as an entity under China, a clear indication that Taiwan’s participation in the health conference is still controlled by China.
“I think it’s very important to find out exactly what price we paid to gain this observer status and whether we paid with our sovereignty,” Kau said.
Kau said that if the Ma administration continued to rely on China to attend international organizations, “it will not only become a big problem for us, but we will also lose international support.”
A list of International Health Regulation (IHR) authorized ports on the WHO Web site and published in February denotes all of Taiwan’s ports, including Hualien, Kaohsiung and Keelung, as belonging to China, alongside Chinese ports such as Huanghua, Huludao and Huma.
Regional maps published by the WHO also continue to show Taiwan as part of China, with no markings indicating a disputed territory, as appears in disputed border areas between China and India.
Further investigation by the Taipei Times turned up more instances, including Taiwanese participants attending a February WHO meeting on pandemic vaccines listed as being from “Taipei, Taiwan, China.”
Responding to the news, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) officials said the examples showed the “failure of Ma’s ‘flexible diplomacy’.”
DPP Spokesperson Tsai Chi-chang (蔡其昌) said Taiwan’s participation in international organizations during former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) administration, including at the APEC forum and the WTO, had upheld Taiwan’s sovereignty.
“While the names that we had to use to attend these organizations were less than satisfactory, we always maintained that Taiwan was a sovereign country,” Tsai said.
He said the DPP had previously attempted to attend the WHA under a rule that allows nations that aren’t full members to be accorded special “observer” status.
However, a listing of participants at last year’s WHA shows that Taiwan’s delegation was placed in a group of non-governmental organizations, including the International Red Cross and the Order of Malta.
Meanwhile, non-member states The Vatican and Palestine were categorized separately as “Observers for a non-member state” and “Observers invited in accordance with [WHA resolutions]” respectively.
“President Ma said they had succeeded where the DPP had failed, but this comment is only correct if he is referring to Taiwan attending the WHA as a non-governmental organization ... The DPP would never humiliate our national sovereignty in that way,” Tsai said.
Asked for comment, MOFA deputy spokesman James Chang (章計平) said the ministry has been in communication with the WHO over the manner in which Taiwan has been referred to in the IHR and WHA meetings, and “will continue to express our concerns and stance” regarding the issue.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Four factors led to the declaration of a typhoon day and the cancelation of classes yesterday, Taipei Mayor Chiang Wan-an (蔣萬安) said. Work and classes were canceled across Taiwan yesterday as Typhoon Krathon was forecast to make landfall in the southern part of the country. However, northern Taiwan had only heavy winds during the day and rain in the evening, leading some to criticize the cancelation. Speaking at a Taipei City Council meeting yesterday, Chiang said the decision was made due to the possibility of landslides and other problems in mountainous areas, the need to avoid a potentially dangerous commute for those
Typhoon Krathon, a military airshow and rehearsals for Double Ten National Day celebrations might disrupt flights at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport in the first 10 days of next month, the airport’s operator said yesterday. Taoyuan International Airport Corp said in a statement that it has established a response center after the Central Weather Administration issued a sea warning for Krathon, and urged passengers to remain alert to the possibility of disruptions caused by the storm in the coming days. Flight schedules might also change while the air force conducts rehearsals and holds a final airshow for Double Ten National Day, it added. Although
SEMICONDUCTORS: TSMC is able to produce 2-nanometer chips and mass production is expected to be launched by next year, the company said In leading-edge semiconductor manufacturing China is behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) by at least 10 years as the Taiwanese chipmaker’s manufacturing process has progressed to 2 nanometers, National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Minister Wu Cheng-wen (吳誠文) said yesterday. Wu made the remarks during a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Education and Culture Committee when asked by Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) about a report published in August by the Chinese version of Nikkei Asia that said Taiwan’s lead over China in chip manufacturing was only three years. She asked Wu Cheng-wen if the report was an accurate
PRO-CHINA SLOGANS: Two DPP members criticized police officers’ lack of action at the scene, saying that law enforcement authorities should investigate the incident Chinese tourists allegedly interrupted a protest in Taipei on Tuesday held by Hong Kongers, knocked down several flags and shouted: “Taiwan and Hong Kong belong to China.” Hong Kong democracy activists were holding a demonstration as Tuesday was China’s National Day. A video posted online by civic group Hong Kong Outlanders shows a couple, who are allegedly Chinese, during the demonstration. “Today is China’s National Day, and I won’t allow the displaying of these flags,” the male yells in the video before pushing some demonstrators and knocking down a few flagpoles. Radio Free Asia reported that some of the demonstrators
RSS