by N. Peter Kramer
During a news conference last week in Taipei City, the government of Taiwan urged the World Health Organisation to heed the voices of its 23 million people who want to join the UN special agency and attend its decision-making body the World Health Assembly in Geneva. Taiwan has not received an invitation to attend the event solely as a result of China’s pressure. The government’s bid to be included has continued to garner support from around the world.
Taiwan’s diplomatic allies have already sent a letter to WHO Director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus and demanded that its proposal backing Taiwan’s WHA observer status be included in this year’s agenda. Other countries have also expressed similar stances. These include the release of statements following this years’ G7 Foreign Ministers Meeting and the Australia-UK Ministerial Consultations as well as the statements by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken for four years in a row. At the same time, the EU and nearly 70 countries, among them Japan, the UK and France, have also called for Taiwan’s WHA inclusion through different approaches on various platforms.
It is clear that Taiwan is willing to and capable of contributing to the global health network, see examples of the country’s provision of humanitarian assistance during the COVID-19 pandemic; war and natural disaster aid in Ukraine and Syria; as well as its world-leading national health insurance and public health achievements. All these, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said, bear testament to Taiwan as a force for good and a responsible stakeholder in the global community.
