More than 100 European lawmakers have signed letters voicing support for Taiwan’s bid to participate in the WHO’s World Health Assembly (WHA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Saturday.
One letter on Wednesday sent to EU High Representative Josep Borrell was signed by 67 members of the European Parliamentarians from six party caucuses, it said.
“The WHO’s treatment of Taiwan as part of China has caused problems for Taiwan,” according to a copy of the letter that was posted on Twitter by one of the signatories, former Polish minister of foreign affairs Anna Fotyga.
Photo: AFP
Not only is Taiwan’s democratically elected government barred from participation in the WHA, but Taiwanese experts are also arbitrarily prevented from attending the WHO’s technical meetings, the letter said.
“In these difficult times, the substantial cooperation in areas such as medical supplies, research and development of vaccines between Taiwan, the EU and its Member States would be beneficial in order to curb the further spread of the pandemic and better prepare for any future outbreak,” the letter reads.
A letter signed by 60 German lawmakers on April 2 was addressed to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, who has been heavily criticized by the US and several other countries for his response to the pandemic, the ministry said.
German-Chinese Association-Friends of Taiwan chairperson Anita Schafer wrote in that letter that the WHO’s treatment of Taiwan was inconsistent with its organizational values, the ministry said.
The ministry thanked the 127 lawmakers for their support, saying they were the “voice of justice,” adding that their empathy for Taiwan stands in sharp contrast to Tedros’ statements about Taiwan.
Tedros, an Ethiopian microbiologist and the first African to lead the WHO, on Wednesday said that he had been the victim of months of racially abusive attacks from Taiwan, and that the foreign ministry had failed to condemn the attacks.
The government has strongly denied that Taiwan had instigated the attacks.
Separately, a 31-year-old Ethiopian doctor who spent three months at the Taiwan International Healthcare Training Center in Taipei said that Tedros’ accusation did not match his experience.
While Wondwossen Mengistie Ayele declined to comment on the political dispute between Taiwan and the WHO, he said Tedros’ comments had left him “perplexed,” because of his own experiences from October to December last year.
“What I can say about my stay in Taiwan is: The people of Taiwan were very hospitable and very respectful,” Wondwossen said. “We had a great stay there and learned a lot during our stay.”
He thanked the staff at Taipei Hospital and Cathay General Hospital, where he was trained in laparascopic surgery.
Ultimately, “time will tell” whether Tedros’ allegations are true, Wondwossen said.
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