Washington/Beijing/Geneva: After the USA recommended reinstatement of Taiwan as an observer at the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), China today hit back claiming the US statement “seriously violates the one-China principle and the three China-US Joint Communiqués”.
This year, beginning May 27, the World Health Organization (WHO) will hold its annual WHA where Member State delegates and health experts from around the world will discuss priorities for advancing global health and global health security.
The USA justified its call to include Taiwan in the upcoming event on the pretext that “New and existing threats to global health demand broad international cooperation”. The US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken claimed that American support for Taiwan’s “meaningful participation in international fora is in line with our one-China policy, which is guided by the Taiwan Relations Act, the three Joint Communiques, and the Six Assurances”.
The Taiwan issue at the WHO is as tricky as it is elsewhere. Taiwan participated as an observer to the World Health Assembly from 2009 to 2016 without objection but has since been excluded from these meetings after China blocked Taiwan’t participation in the World Health Assembly in 2016. China, thereafter, played an important role in the election of WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in 2017, Dr. Tedros on the very next day after getting elected as the WHO DG, extended the WHO’s support to Beijing’s “One China” principle that denounces the existence of Taiwan as a sovereign country.
The issue snowballed into a major controversy during the pandemic period when the world was struggling to get a medicine/vaccine for the Coronavirus Disease-19. So much so that in August 2020, an Australian politician and former public servant and diplomat, Devanand Noel “Dave” Sharma, who was also a Member of Parliament of Australia’s ruling Liberal Party, had gone to the extent of publicly stating that WHO was apparently “putting the political sensitivities of a member state [China] above the public health interests of the world…”.
Yesterday, the US Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken, stated that his country “strongly encourages” the WHO to reinstate an invitation to Taiwan to participate as an observer at the WHA, “so the world may once again benefit from Taiwan’s expertise and experience”. He added: “Taiwan’s exceptional capabilities and approaches offer considerable value to inform the WHA’s deliberations. Time and again, Taiwan has demonstrated a capability and willingness to help address global health crises and support the global health community.”
The US commended the WHO for taking steps to engage Taiwan more meaningfully in its technical work over the past year and for improving lines of communication. “Yet Taiwan’s continued exclusion from this preeminent global health forum undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands – and urgently needs,” Blinked stated. According to him, inviting Taiwan to observe the WHA is a “critically important” step toward affirming the WHO’s goal of “Health for All.”
China today asked the US to “stop using the WHA to create confusion on Taiwan-related issues”. It asked Washington not to cross the red line in China-US relations – “The Taiwan question is at the core of China’s core interests and the number one red line that must not be crossed in China-US relations.”
Beijing stated its position on the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, was “consistent and clear”, that is, this must be handled under the one-China principle, which is also a basic principle enshrined in the UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1.
Taiwan’s ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities, Beijing said, “have stubbornly stuck to the separatist position of “Taiwan independence,” which means that the political foundation for Taiwan region’s participation in the WHA no longer exists”.
China stated that the US statement misleadingly presents this matter essentially to connive at and support “Taiwan independence” separatist activities. “The one-China principle has the extensive support of the international community. It is where global opinion trends and where the arc of history bends. There’s no denying or stopping that trend. Any attempt to play the “Taiwan card” and use Taiwan to contain China will meet the firm opposition of the international community and is doomed to failure,” it added.
– global bihari bureau