Taiwan has not received a letter of invitation to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA), Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said today before a meeting at the Legislative Yuan.
The 78th WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 19 to 27.
The WHA Action Team would continue to push for Taiwan to join international health organizations and demonstrate Taiwan’s eagerness to participate, Chiu said.
Photo: Reuters
All global citizens have the right to access equal healthcare opportunities and Taiwan can help toward this goal, Chiu said.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO) has said that Taiwan has “no right” to participate in the WHO, as the Democratic Progressive Party refuses to accept the so-called “1992 consensus.”
The “1992 consensus” — a term that former Mainland Affairs Council chairman Su Chi (蘇起) in 2006 admitted making up in 2000 — refers to a tacit understanding between the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Chinese Communist Party that both sides of the Taiwan Strait acknowledge that there is “one China,” with each side having its own interpretation of what “China” means.
The TAO said that Taiwan has been able to attend the WHA conference since 2009 as an observer in a “special arrangement” under the political basis of the “1992 consensus.”
The office further said that Taiwan was disrupting the WHA and could only join the assembly if it accepted the “one China” principle.
Taiwan has some of the highest-quality medical care in the world, as recognized internationally, and seeks to engage in international cooperation and assist other nations, Chiu said.
The right to healthcare should not be influenced by politics, he added.
Asked if Taiwan would attend sideline meetings and interact with the overseas Taiwanese community outside the WHA venue, Chiu said it is difficult to define what is “inside” and “outside” of the WHA.
The goal is to showcase Taiwan’s high-quality healthcare, no matter the location, he said.
The WHA Action Team’s presence in Geneva would also help to attract media attention, he added.
Additional reporting by Chiu Chih-jou
A magnitude 6.1 earthquake struck off the coast of Yilan County at 8:39pm tonight, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said, with no immediate reports of damage or injuries. The epicenter was 38.7km east-northeast of Yilan County Hall at a focal depth of 98.3km, the CWA’s Seismological Center said. The quake’s maximum intensity, which gauges the actual physical effect of a seismic event, was a level 4 on Taiwan’s 7-tier intensity scale, the center said. That intensity level was recorded in Yilan County’s Nanao Township (南澳), Hsinchu County’s Guansi Township (關西), Nantou County’s Hehuanshan (合歡山) and Hualien County’s Yanliao (鹽寮). An intensity of 3 was
Instead of focusing solely on the threat of a full-scale military invasion, the US and its allies must prepare for a potential Chinese “quarantine” of Taiwan enforced through customs inspections, Stanford University Hoover fellow Eyck Freymann said in a Foreign Affairs article published on Wednesday. China could use various “gray zone” tactics in “reconfiguring the regional and ultimately the global economic order without a war,” said Freymann, who is also a nonresident research fellow at the US Naval War College. China might seize control of Taiwan’s links to the outside world by requiring all flights and ships entering or leaving Taiwan
The first of 10 new high-capacity trains purchased from South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem arrived at the Port of Taipei yesterday to meet the demands of an expanding metro network, Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC) said yesterday. The train completed a three-day, 1,200km voyage from the Port of Masan in South Korea, the company said. Costing NT$590 million (US$18.79 million) each, the new six-carriage trains feature a redesigned interior based on "human-centric" transportation concepts, TRTC said. The design utilizes continuous longitudinal seating to widen the aisles and optimize passenger flow, while also upgrading passenger information displays and driving control systems for a more comfortable
Taiwan's first indigenous defense submarine, the SS-711 Hai Kun (海鯤, or Narwhal), departed for its 13th sea trial at 7am today, marking its seventh submerged test, with delivery to the navy scheduled for July. The outing also marked its first sea deployment since President William Lai (賴清德) boarded the submarine for an inspection on March 19, drawing a crowd of military enthusiasts who gathered to show support. The submarine this morning departed port accompanied by CSBC Corp’s Endeavor Manta (奮進魔鬼魚號) uncrewed surface vessel and a navy M109 assault boat. Amid public interest in key milestones such as torpedo-launching operations and overnight submerged trials,
RSS