Taiwan protests exclusion from WHO’s annual assembly

• The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on 22 May said it was “deeply regrettable” that Taiwan would be excluded from the World Health Organization’s (WHO) annual assembly in Geneva this week.
• Regarding the assembly’s decision not to put a proposal initiated by Taiwan’s diplomatic allies to invite Taiwan to take part in the event as an observer on the agenda, MOFA expressed “dissatisfaction” and called it “deeply regrettable,” it said in a press release.
• On 22 May, the assembly decided not to extend an invitation to Taiwan due to opposition from China, though MOFA noted that four of Taiwan’s formal diplomatic allies — Belize, Nauru, eSwatini and the Marshall Islands — had spoken up for its inclusion during a debate.
• In its statement, MOFA said Taiwan has “actively contributed to global health and safety for the past several decades, including by providing medical expertise and personal protective equipment during the COVID-19 pandemic.”
• Taiwan’s participation in the WHA is a global health issue, and as such, professional considerations should not be subordinated to political ones, the ministry said.
• “Excluding Taiwan because of political pressure from China is not only unjust, but also constitutes a grave risk to global health,” MOFA said.
• The ministry went on to excoriate China’s “outrageous and unreasonable” attempts to block Taiwan’s inclusion in international organizations, saying these actions did not change the fact that “only Taiwan’s democratically-elected government has the right to represent Taiwan’s 23 million people at the WHO and other venues.

External Link : https://focustaiwan.tw/politics/202305220023