Global Courant 2023-05-18 15:58:00
TAIPEI – Taiwan said it still hopes to be invited to the opening of the World Health Organization’s annual meeting in Geneva on Sunday, as support for its participation grew despite China’s efforts to isolate the democratically governed island.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu noted that several diplomatic allies and friendly countries had issued statements of support for Taiwan’s participation, or organized bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the WHO meeting, scheduled to take place May 21-30.
“The support for us is stronger than in the past,” said Mr. Wu at a press conference in Taipei on Thursday.
“Even though we have still not received an invitation letter to the meeting this year, we are not giving up and will continue to clearly communicate our demand to WHO through various channels.”
Taiwan has been excluded from most international organizations over objections from China, which considers the island its own despite Taiwan’s claims that it is an independent country.
After China began blocking Taiwan’s World Health Assembly (WHA) participation in 2017, the island launched a diplomatic campaign to participate in the annual meeting as an observer.
Earlier this month, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken issued a statement encouraging the WHO to invite Taiwan as an observer, drawing criticism from China.
On Thursday, the de facto embassies in Taiwan for the United States, Australia, Britain, Canada, Germany, Japan, Lithuania and the Czech Republic issued a joint statement reaffirming their support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA as an observer.
“Taiwan’s isolation from the WHA, the preeminent global health forum, is unjustified and undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security,” the statement said.
Taiwan, which is allowed to attend some WHO technical meetings, says its exclusion from the WHO hampered efforts to fight the Covid-19 pandemic.
In recent years, China has stepped up diplomatic and military pressure on Taiwan to reunify the island, by force if necessary. Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims, saying only the island’s 23 million residents can decide their future. REUTERS
