A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting.
The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer.
Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s recommendation “not to include the proposed supplementary agenda item.”
The decision meant that Taiwan was left out of the WHA for the ninth year in a row.
Chen Xu (陳旭), China’s permanent representative to the UN office at Geneva, cited UN Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1 to argue that China fully represents Taiwan and that raising the issue of Taiwan’s participation amounts to interference in China’s internal affairs.
Zaman Mehdi, Pakistan’s deputy permanent representative to the UN office at Geneva, reaffirmed his country’s support for Beijing’s “one China” principle, as well as its sovereignty and territorial integrity.
Belize and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines — two of Taiwan’s 12 diplomatic allies — laid out their reasons for supporting Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA.
However, this year they shifted their focus from praising Taiwan’s public health contributions to challenging China’s interpretation of UN Resolution 2758.
Belizean Minister of Health and Wellness Kevin Bernard said that the two resolutions “do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities.”
“These resolutions do not justify the exclusion of Taiwan, nor do they grant China the right to represent the Taiwanese people. The government of the People’s Republic of China has never ruled Taiwan,” he said.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Minister of Health, Wellness and the Environment St Clair Prince said that the resolutions do not mention Taiwan, “nor do they confirm Taiwan to be part of any other nation.”
“Hence, these resolutions have nothing to do with and do not address the issue of Taiwan’s representation in the UN system,” Prince said.
Taiwan was invited to attend the WHA as an observer for eight years from 2009 to 2016, but that arrangement was “unfortunately discontinued for political and not health reasons,” he said.
With Taiwan’s last chance to participate at this year’s WHA ruled out, Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) is expected to submit a formal letter of protest to the WHO, in line with past practice.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it “strongly condemned” the opposition of China and Pakistan, which neglects the basic rights of Taiwanese to participate in international affairs.
On the first day of the assembly, representatives of Germany, France, Japan and New Zealand, as well as allies Haiti and the Marshall Islands, voiced support for Taiwan’s participation.
“To respond to health emergencies, we should learn from regions that have achieved remarkable public health results, such as Taiwan,” Japanese State Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Hirobumi Niki said.
Everyone’s expertise is needed, including Taiwan’s, to realize this year’s WHA theme of “One World for Health,” German Federal Minister of Health Nina Warken said.
Separately, the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) reiterated that the US would continue to support Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.
Taiwan is a reliable and capable partner, including in global health security, and provides significant and sustainable benefits to the citizens of many countries, an AIT spokesperson said.
Additional reporting by Huang Ching-hsuan
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
Environmental groups yesterday filed an appeal with the Executive Yuan, seeking to revoke the environmental impact assessment (EIA) conditionally approved in February for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant’s planned fourth liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving station off the coast of Keelung. The appeal was filed jointly by the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group, the Wild at Heart Legal Defense Association and the Keelung City Taiwan Head Cultural Association, which together held a news conference outside the Executive Yuan in Taipei. Explaining the reasons for the appeal, Wang Hsing-chih (王醒之) of the Protect Waimushan Seashore Action Group said that the EIA failed to address