It is “deeply regrettable” that Taiwan has not been invited to attend this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday.
The deadline for registering for the WHA — the annual meeting of the decisionmaking body of the WHO — was Monday. The 77th WHA runs from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, Switzerland.
Taiwan could not meet the deadline because as it is not a UN member, it required an invitation, which was not sent for the eighth consecutive year.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Montreal via CNA
In a report to be presented to lawmakers at a committee hearing today, the ministry called on the WHO to “face squarely” Taiwan’s professional contributions in the field of global health, and argued that Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO posed a global health risk.
The decision not to invite Taiwan to the WHA, which the government has repeatedly protested, not only disregards the rights of the 23.5 million people of Taiwan, but also the health and welfare of all of humanity, the report says.
Despite the lack of an invitation to the WHA, minister of health and welfare-designate Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) is to lead a delegation to Geneva to attend events to promote Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA, in line with previous practice, the ministry said.
Deputy Legislative Speaker Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) is also to lead a legislative delegation to Geneva for the same purpose, it said.
Taiwan left the WHO in 1972 after the UN expelled the nation and recognized the People’s Republic of China (PRC) as the only “legitimate representative of China.”
Since then, Taiwan has been unable to attend the WHA even as an observer due to Chinese pressure, except from 2009 to 2016 during the then-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) administration.
On Monday, Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Wang Wenbin (汪文斌) told reporters in Beijing that China sees Taiwan as part of its territory, and that Taiwan’s participation in the WHA “must be handled under the one China principle.”
“China’s Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the WHA,” Wang said.
Asked to comment on the remarks, MOFA spokesman Jeff Liu (劉永健) yesterday said that China has no right to interfere with Taiwan’s diplomacy and international participation.
“Taiwan has never been part of the PRC,” Liu said. “This is an objective fact and an internationally recognized status quo.”
It is Taiwan’s right to participate in international organizations, he said.
The decision does not rely on Beijing’s goodwill or need its consent, he added.
The inspection equipment and data transmission system for new robotic dogs that Taipei is planning to use for sidewalk patrols were developed by a Taiwanese company, the city’s New Construction Office said today, dismissing concerns that the China-made robots could pose a security risk. The city is bringing in smart robotic dogs to help with sidewalk inspections, Taipei Deputy Mayor Lee Ssu-chuan (李四川) said on Facebook. Equipped with a panoramic surveillance system, the robots would be able to automatically flag problems and easily navigate narrow sidewalks, making inspections faster and more accurate, Lee said. By collecting more accurate data, they would help Taipei
TAKING STOCK: The USMC is rebuilding a once-abandoned airfield in Palau to support large-scale ground operations as China’s missile range grows, Naval News reported The US Marine Corps (USMC) is considering new sites for stockpiling equipment in the West Pacific to harden military supply chains and enhance mobility across the Indo-Pacific region, US-based Naval News reported on Saturday. The proposed sites in Palau — one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies — and Australia would enable a “rapid standup of stored equipment within a year” of the program’s approval, the report said, citing documents published by the USMC last month. In Palau, the service is rebuilding a formerly abandoned World War II-era airfield and establishing ancillary structures to support large-scale ground operations “as China’s missile range and magazine
A 72-year-old man in Kaohsiung was sentenced to 40 days in jail after he was found having sex with a 67-year-old woman under a slide in a public park on Sunday afternoon. At 3pm on Sunday, a mother surnamed Liang (梁) was with her child at a neighborhood park when they found the man, surnamed Tsai (蔡), and woman, surnamed Huang (黃), underneath the slide. Liang took her child away from the scene, took photographs of the two and called the police, who arrived and arrested the couple. During questioning, Tsai told police that he had met Huang that day and offered to
A British man was arrested for attempting to smuggle 14.37kg of marijuana into Taiwan through Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport, Taipei Customs said late yesterday. The man, who arrived from Bangkok at 9pm on Friday, was asked by customs officers to open his luggage during a random inspection, Taipei Customs said in a news release. The passenger, whose identity was not disclosed, refused to open his suitcase and tried to flee the restricted area. He was eventually subdued by three customs officials and an Aviation Police Bureau officer. A later search of his checked luggage uncovered 14.37kg of marijuana buds. The case was handed over
RSS