TAIPEI, Taiwan, (TaiwanToday) – Support from all over the world for Taiwan’s campaign to participate in the World Health Organization and its decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, is sincerely appreciated by the government and people, the ministry of foreign affairs said May 19.
According to the MOFA, eleven allies have submitted proposals to the WHO Secretariat calling for an invitation for Taiwan to take part in the WHA as an observer.
Saint Lucia’s prime minister Philip J. Pierre penned a letter of the same opinion to WHO secretary general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, while the parliaments of Guatemala, Palau and St Christopher and Nevis also passed resolutions in support of Taiwan.
The US Trump administration has voiced support for Taiwan’s global participation ten times so far, including a joint statement following the meeting between the US president and Japan’s PM Shigeru Ishiba in February this year. Earlier this month, the House of Representatives also passed the Taiwan International Solidarity Act that directs the government to counteract China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 in an attempt to suppress Taiwan.
Other examples of support include a joint statement by the G7 foreign ministers in March this year backing Taiwan’s meaningful global participation; the adoption of resolutions on annual reports on the implementation of the European Union Common Foreign and Security Policy with the same stance; and a joint letter by the Formosa Club calling for Taiwan’s WHO and WHA inclusion.
The MOFA said these positive developments show that Chinese attempts to block Taiwan’s WHO participation are not well received by global bodies. UN Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1 do not mention Taiwan, nor can they be used as grounds to exclude Taiwan from participating in the WHO and other international organizations, multilateral mechanisms or forums, it added.
The ministry urges the WHO Secretariat to heed the voices of its member countries, not indulge Chinese political interference and allow Taiwan to take part in its meetings, mechanisms and activities, in line with its slogan to “Leave No One Behind” and the WHA’s own upcoming theme of “One World for Health.”
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