Taiwan has continuously participated in international health affairs and shared its experiences, including its globally benchmarked universal healthcare coverage, and the WHO should include Taiwan in its meetings and mechanisms, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said in an op-ed published in an Israeli newspaper on Tuesday.
The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) — the decisionmaking body of the WHO — is to be held in Geneva, Switzerland, from May 19 to May 27, but Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA in previous years due to pressure from China.
In an effort to gain international recognition and participation in the WHA, Chiu submitted his opinion piece, titled “Recognizing Taiwan’s considerable contributions to global health and potential at the WHO,” to the English-language Jerusalem Post and it was published on Tuesday.
Photo: CNA
Citing the WHO Fourteenth General Programme of Work for 2025-2028, adopted by WHO members at last year’s WHA, Chiu said the program’s strategic objectives include improving healthcare and bolstering financial protections to ensure universal healthcare coverage.
NHI SYSTEM NO. 1
Taiwan launched the National Health Insurance (NHI) system in 1995, and it now covers 99.9 percent of the population, providing equitable, accessible and efficient healthcare to all people, he said, adding the NHI system is an important pillar and guarantor of Taiwan’s social stability, and people’s health and safety, and has become a global benchmark of universal healthcare coverage.
Citing an annual survey by Internet database Numbeo, Chiu said Taiwan has been ranked first in the Healthcare Index category for seven consecutive years.
In line with President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of a “healthy Taiwan,” the government is expanding health promotion operations and preventive healthcare, implementing a family physician program, utilizing telemedicine, and promoting integrated long-term care and palliative care, to ensure “holistic, lifelong, and dignified care for all people, realizing health equity,” he said.
The minister also outlined the use of information and communications technology to improve healthcare systems and services, including the NHI Cloud, adoption of international standards for medical data sharing, artificial intelligence-assisted smart healthcare, the virtual health insurance card, and the introduction of the Health Technology Assessment to facilitate evidence-based policymaking.
PANDEMIC ASSISTANCE
Detailing Taiwan’s role in sharing supplies, strategies and experiences during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as sharing its experiences in universal coverage, financial management and digital health, Chiu said that “Taiwan has continuously participated in international health affairs and has been dedicated to supporting the global health system.”
He said that while global cooperation has become essential to addressing various health crises, Taiwan has been excluded from the WHO due to China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1 — neither of which mentions Taiwan.
“To uphold the core UN values of inclusiveness and universality, we urge WHO and all relevant parties to recognize Taiwan’s considerable contributions to global public health and the human right to health,” Chiu said.
Taiwan should be included in the WHA and all WHO meetings, activities and mechanisms, particularly those concerned with the WHO pandemic agreement, he said, adding that Taiwan hopes to work with the international community to create a fundamental human right to health, and the UN vision of leaving no one behind.
Separately, the Capital Times, a weekly newspaper in Wisconsin, on Sunday also published a letter by Dennis Lei (類延峰), director-general of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago, urging the WHO to recognize Taiwan’s contributions to global health and allow its participation in the WHO.
Hong Kong singer Eason Chan’s (陳奕迅) concerts in Kaohsiung this weekend have been postponed after he was diagnosed with Covid-19 this morning, the organizer said today. Chan’s “FEAR and DREAMS” concert which was scheduled to be held in the coming three days at the Kaohsiung Arena would be rescheduled to May 29, 30 and 31, while the three shows scheduled over the next weekend, from May 23 to 25, would be held as usual, Universal Music said in a statement. Ticket holders can apply for a full refund or attend the postponed concerts with the same seating, the organizer said. Refund arrangements would
Taiwanese indie band Sunset Rollercoaster and South Korean outfit Hyukoh collectively received the most nominations at this year’s Golden Melody Awards, earning a total of seven nods from the jury on Wednesday. The bands collaborated on their 2024 album AAA, which received nominations for best band, best album producer, best album design and best vocal album recording. “Young Man,” a single from the album, earned nominations for song of the year and best music video, while another track, “Antenna,” also received a best music video nomination. Late Hong Kong-American singer Khalil Fong (方大同) was named the jury award winner for his 2024 album
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
RSS