Voice of America
18 May 2022, 10:35 GMT+10
Washington - The United States said it strongly advocates for Taiwan to regain its observer status in the World Health Assembly (WHA) the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), leading into its annual meeting May 22-28 in Geneva.
On Tuesday, State Department spokesperson Ned Price told reporters that as the world is battling the COVID-19 pandemic and other public health threats, Taiwan's isolation from the WHO is 'unwarranted.'
'We believe there is no reasonable justification to exclude its (Taiwan's) participation' in WHO, Price said. 'Taiwan's absence from the WHA in recent years is something that we have sought to rectify. The WHO broke years of precedent at the 70th World Health Assembly in 2017, when it failed to invite a Taiwanese delegation to observe.'
U.S. officials and congressional members have praised Taiwan's public health expertise and its resilience in the face of COVID-19, saying it offers 'considerable resources to inform the WHO' as the U.N. health agency addresses public health threats.
Jason Ding at left and Nancy Chen look over paperwork for national compensation case at a meeting for families who lost their loved ones to COVID-19 on Sept. 17, 2021, Taipei, Taiwan.
The State Department's renewed support for Taiwan comes days after U.S. President Joe Biden signed into law a bill that directs the secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization.
The U.S. move is seen as an open rebuke to China. The Beijing government has been blocking Taiwan's representation at WHO meetings after the self-ruled democracy elected Tsai Ing-wen, a China skeptic, as Taiwan's president in 2016 and 2020.
Delegates from Taiwan had attended the World Health Assembly as nonvoting observers from 2009 to 2016, during a period of relatively warm ties between Beijing and Taipei.
Taiwan has not been invited to attend the 75th World Health Assembly, to be held this month in Geneva.
On Saturday, Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs thanked the U.S. for its support. However, Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu said earlier this month that he expected it would be 'very difficult' to get an invitation to the meeting, Reuters reported.
In Beijing, a Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson said the U.S. bill to help Taiwan regain its WHO status 'gravely violates' Beijing's 'one-China principle.'
'China rejects and deplores that the U.S. should insist on signing it into law,' spokesperson Zhao Lijian said this week.
U.S. officials have said Washington's one-China policy is 'distinct' from Beijing's one-China principle. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has never ruled Taiwan but asserts sovereignty over the self-ruled democracy.
The U.S. has never accepted the CCP's sovereignty claim over Taiwan and has refrained from taking a position on sovereignty over Taiwan.
Get a daily dose of Malaysia Sun news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Malaysia Sun.
More InformationSHAN STATE, Myanmar - Locals claim that the Pa-O National Organisation (PNO) militia has been forcibly recruiting members from villages ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - The Haji Yunus Ali School and College in Ashulia, Savar, has suspended a student hanging out with ...
KATHMANDU, Nepal - According to the Department of Forests and Soil Conservation, 90 settlements in Salyan are at high risk ...
LAHORE, Pakistan - FIFA, the world governing body of football, lifted Pakistan's suspension on Thursday and extended the mandate of ...
MANDALAY, Myanmar - On Wednesday, Junta authorities arrested three more Mandalay-based lawyers representing political detainees after leaving their clients' hearings ...
DHAKA, Bangladesh - Tarique Rahman's support for Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib's killers has been criticized by Sheikh Hasina. The murderers of ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to surging food prices, summer cookouts for the U.S. Independence Day holiday are more expensive, forcing Americans ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: In a cardboard box factory outside Baltimore, people have been walking into the office of Paul Centenari, chief ...
DELFT, Netherlands: IKEA officials said this week that the furniture retailer's warehouses in Europe are as full as they were ...
NEW YORK CITY, New York: After the first six months of 2022, the S&P 500 recorded a loss of 20.6 ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Due to the record high trade deficit and a resurgence in COVID-19 infections that curbed spending on services, ...
TAIPEI, Taiwan: The world's fourth largest chip designer by revenue, Taiwan's MediaTek, has told Reuters that it plans to create ...