TAIPEI, Taiwan (Taiwan Today) – The government of Taiwan urged the World Health Organization 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, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said.
During a joint news conference May 24 in Taipei City, MOFA minister Lin Chia-lung and minister of health and welfare Chiu Tai-yuan voiced the demand just before the WHA was set to convene its 77th session May 27 to June 1 in Geneva.
According to Lin, 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, he said, adding that Taiwan’s 11 diplomatic allies have already sent a letter to WHO Director-general Dr Theodore Adhanom Ghebreyesus and demanded that its proposal backing Taiwan’s WHA observer status be included in this year’s agenda.
The country’s friends and partner countries have also expressed similar stances, Lin said. 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, he added.
At the same time, the executive and legislative branches of nearly 70 countries and the EU, including Japan, the UK and France, have also called for Taiwan’s WHA inclusion through different approaches on various platforms. The minister added that such support is sincerely appreciated by the government and people.
Lin said Taiwan is willing to and capable of contributing to the global health network, citing as examples 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 bear testament to Taiwan as a force for good and a responsible stakeholder in the global community, he added.
