Several US senators across party lines on Friday expressed disappointment with Taiwan’s exclusion from the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), the decisionmaking body of the WHO, and urged the organization to allow the nation meaningful participation in its activities.
“Despite its indisputable accomplishments and contributions to global health, the WHO continues to exclude Taiwan from the WHA due to pressure from Beijing,” the senators said in a joint letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
“This places the political agenda of a single member over the health of the global community,” it said.
The letter was signed by senators Marco Rubio and Ted Cruz of the Republican Party, as well as Democratic senators Ed Markey, Jeff Merkley and Sherrod Brown.
The signatories voiced their disappointment after Taiwan did not receive an invitation to attend the resumption of the annual WHA session, held from Monday to Saturday last week, after a shortened online conference was held in May.
The senators praised Taiwan’s efforts containing its local COVID-19 outbreak, “which it was able to do without resorting to strict restrictions on its people,” they said.
The senators said that Taiwan’s success “should serve as a model to the rest of us, and it is further evidence that Taiwan is extraordinarily qualified to contribute to the WHA.”
They also lauded Taiwan for reporting no new locally transmitted cases of COVID-19 for more than 200 consecutive days, setting a world record.
“Allowing Taiwan’s meaningful participation in future events will ensure that their public health experts have the opportunity to share best practices and contribute to an effective global response to the pandemic,” the senators said.
They said that Taiwan has been one of the most generous donors in the world of COVID-19-related materials, as the nation has given personal protective equipment and other medical supplies and technologies to countries in need.
The senators urged the WHO not to bow to pressure from Beijing, as marshaling all available resources to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic should be the health organization’s top priority.
“The WHO cannot fulfill its stated mission of ‘building a better, healthier future for people all over the world’ if it continues to deny Taiwan observer status,” they said. “It is in the interest of all nations that the world’s leading health agency be able to withstand the influence of bad actors who are motivated by interests that have nothing to do with advancing global health security.”
The first two F-16V Bock 70 jets purchased from the US are expected to arrive in Taiwan around Double Ten National Day, which is on Oct. 10, a military source said yesterday. Of the 66 F-16V Block 70 jets purchased from the US, the first completed production in March, the source said, adding that since then three jets have been produced per month. Although there were reports of engine defects, the issue has been resolved, they said. After the jets arrive in Taiwan, they must first pass testing by the air force before they would officially become Taiwan’s property, they said. The air force
The Coast Guard Administration (CGA) yesterday said it had deployed patrol vessels to expel a China Coast Guard ship and a Chinese fishing boat near Pratas Island (Dongsha Island, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. The China Coast Guard vessel was 28 nautical miles (52km) northeast of Pratas at 6:15am on Thursday, approaching the island’s restricted waters, which extend 24 nautical miles from its shoreline, the CGA’s Dongsha-Nansha Branch said in a statement. The Tainan, a 2,000-tonne cutter, was deployed by the CGA to shadow the Chinese ship, which left the area at 2:39pm on Friday, the statement said. At 6:31pm on Friday,
The Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy’s (PLAN) third aircraft carrier, the Fujian, would pose a steep challenge to Taiwan’s ability to defend itself against a full-scale invasion, a defense expert said yesterday. Institute of National Defense and Security Research analyst Chieh Chung (揭仲) made the comment hours after the PLAN confirmed the carrier recently passed through the Taiwan Strait to conduct “scientific research tests and training missions” in the South China Sea. China has two carriers in operation — the Liaoning and the Shandong — with the Fujian undergoing sea trials. Although the PLAN needs time to train the Fujian’s air wing and
STRIKE: Some travel agencies in Taiwan said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group tours to the country were proceeding as planned A planned strike by airport personnel in South Korea has not affected group tours to the country from Taiwan, travel agencies said yesterday. They added that they were closely monitoring the situation. Personnel at 15 airports, including Seoul’s Incheon and Gimpo airports, are to go on strike. They announced at a news conference on Tuesday that the strike would begin on Friday next week and continue until the Mid-Autumn Festival next month. Some travel agencies in Taiwan, including Cola Tour, Lion Travel, SET Tour and ezTravel, said that they were aware of the situation in South Korea, and that group
RSS