The US State Department on Friday called for Taiwan to be allowed to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA), citing the nation’s successful efforts against COVID-19 and its assistance to other countries during the pandemic.
“Taiwan’s outstanding control of COVID-19 and its donations of PPE [personal protective equipment] demonstrate its strong contribution to global health,” State Department spokesman Ned Price wrote on Twitter. “Taiwan has some of the world’s leading experts in combating this disease, and we need to hear from Taiwan at the World Health Assembly.”
The WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is to hold its 74th annual meeting virtually from Geneva, Switzerland, from May 24 to June 1.
It is widely believed that Taiwan would not be invited to the event, due to China’s objections. In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, global powers, including the EU and Japan, have issued statements in support of Taiwan’s inclusion in the meeting.
On Friday, the World Medical Association, a group representing more than 100 national medical associations, sent a letter to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, urging that Taiwan be granted observer status in the organization.
Meanwhile, the legislature of Guam unanimously passed a resolution calling for Taiwan’s inclusion in the assembly and expressing thanks for donations of masks and other medical assistance it has received from Taiwan.
As of Thursday, 250 lawmakers and senior government officials from more than 50 countries had expressed support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
US senators Ed Markey and Mitt Romney, and US representatives Ami Bera and Steve Chabot have released video statements as part of a global hashtag campaign to #LetTaiwanHelp.
Romney on Tuesday said that Taiwan’s participation in the meeting was a matter of “critical” importance, as its exclusion would benefit China’s efforts to “strategically isolate Taiwan from the global community.”
Markey said that the WHO’s “one China” policy “must not be used as a bludgeon to shut out Taipei from saving lives and economies from disease.”
The Republic of China was expelled from the WHO in 1972 after losing its seat in the UN when the grouped switched recognition to the People’s Republic of China. Taiwan participated in WHA events as an observer from 2009 to 2016 under the designation “Chinese Taipei.” Since 2017, Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA due to opposition from China.
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