Taiwan and the EU should bolster their partnership in the post-COVID-19 era, collaborating on supply chains and vaccines in particular, Vice President William Lai (賴清德) said at a health forum yesterday.
Taiwan and eurozone countries should seize the opportunity to improve their partnerships and create more business opportunities, as they gradually resume economic activities and reopen their borders, Lai said at the opening of the forum held by the European Chamber of Commerce Taiwan (ECCT).
The main potential areas of cooperation are supply chains and the production of vaccines, he said.
Photo: CNA
As Taiwan has been playing a role in global public health efforts, it should not be excluded from international health mechanisms, Lai said.
Over the past year, Taiwan has donated medical supplies to numerous countries, including many in Europe, as they scrambled to fight the COVID-19 pandemic, he said.
The World Health Assembly (WHA), the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is preparing to hold its annual summit virtually next month, with Taiwan likely to be excluded for a fifth consecutive year.
Taiwan was able attend the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, during the tenure of former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), of the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT).
However, since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office, China has ramped up its efforts to isolate Taiwan from the international community.
Despite growing support for Taiwan’s inclusion, it has not since been invited to the WHA.
Lai said that the pandemic is not only a health crisis, but also a grave issue that affects a nation’s economy and security.
ECCT chairman Henry Chang (張瀚書) said that discussions at the chamber’s first health-related forum would include pressing and long-term challenges, as well as opportunities in Taiwan, such as its shrinking birthrate and aging society.
The forum is intended to explore ways to increase public-private partnerships that would foster an effective and sustainable healthcare system, Chang said.
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