On the eve of this year’s World Health Assembly, support for Taiwan’s participation in the Assembly is growing around the globe. U.S. State Department spokesperson Price said Taiwan’s excellent epidemic prevention performance is a testament to its strong contribution to global health, and “we must hear Taiwan’s voice at the World Health Assembly.”
The annual World Health Assembly will be held in late May, and Taiwan, which has not been able to attend the assembly since 2017, namely over China’s objections, is also gaining more support from the international community for its epidemic prevention performance against Newcastle pneumonia. State Department spokesman Ned Price tweeted Friday (April 30), “Taiwan’s outstanding performance in preventing and controlling the New Coronavirus and its contributions to personal protective facilities are a testament to its strong contribution to global health. Taiwan has the world’s leading experts in the fight against this disease and we need to hear Taiwan’s voice at the World Health Assembly.”
Members of the U.S. Congress from both parties have also stepped up their support ahead of this year’s Assembly, not only introducing bills related to supporting Taiwan’s participation in the WHO, but also launching a “Let Taiwan Help” hashtag campaign on social media this week, tying together the world to speak out for Taiwan’s participation in this year’s WHO Assembly.
The bipartisan leaders of the Asia-Pacific Subcommittee of the U.S. Senate and House Foreign Affairs Committees began a bipartisan campaign on Tuesday (April 27) at 10 a.m. on Twitter and Facebook with the hashtag #LetTaiwanHelp, in conjunction with the European Inter-Parliamentary Coalition on China Policy (IPAC), the Latin American “Formosa” group, and the “Taiwan Forum” group. The “Formosa Club” in Latin America launched a 48-hour global campaign to call on members of parliament around the world to invite Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA) this year.
The bipartisan leaders of the U.S. Congress, Senator Markey (D-CA), Chairman of the Senate Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia Pacific Group, and Republican Ranking Member Mitt Romney, as well as Representative Abigail Amibella (D-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee’s Asia Pacific Group, and Republican Ranking Member Chabert, all tweeted a video asking the WHO to let Taiwan share its success story with the world on the New Pneumonia epidemic.
Senator Markey said, “Taiwan has lost just over a dozen people to New Crown pneumonia and donated millions of masks around the world, yet it has been left out of efforts to save more lives. The World Health Organization must allow Taiwan to participate in the World Health Assembly so that it can share its success story with the world. Let Taiwan help.”
Senator Romney said, “We cannot sit back and allow China’s disproportionate influence on global organizations, and Taiwan must participate in the annual World Health Assembly. Excluding Taiwan would only play right into the hands of the Chinese Communist Party as they seek to strategically isolate Taiwan from the global community. Let Taiwan help.”
Senator Inhofe, who co-sponsored Taiwan’s participation in the WHO with Senate Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Menendez last month, said, “The WHO suspended its invitation to Taiwan because of pressure from China, and Senator Menendez and I are leading a bill to bring Taiwan back into the WHO. As the epidemic draws to a close, Taiwan has shown excellent leadership in global health and deserves to return to the mechanism. Let Taiwan help.”
Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement Friday that the “Let Taiwan Help” social media campaign has received widespread international attention, with more than 250 parliamentarians and dignitaries from more than 50 countries around the world responding, and support for Taiwan continues to grow, not only in North America, but also in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific, Latin America and other regions. In addition to North America, parliamentarians, leaders and dignitaries from Europe, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and other countries have posted messages or videos on social media calling on the WHO to invite Taiwan to the WHO Conference.
The statement called on the WHO to “address the strong international support for ‘Let Taiwan help'” and invite Taiwan to attend this year’s WHO meeting as soon as possible to ensure that the health and well-being of the Taiwanese people are not left out and that more countries can benefit from Taiwan’s public health expertise and experience. The WHO has also invited Taiwan to attend this year’s WHO meeting as soon as possible to ensure that the health and well-being of the people of Taiwan is not left out and that more countries can benefit from Taiwan’s public health expertise and epidemic prevention experience.
However, the Chinese government reiterated its consistent position that Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle.
Speaking at a regular press conference on Thursday, Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, said that Taiwan is part of China and any participation of “Taiwan, China” in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, must be handled in accordance with the “one-China principle. He warned Taiwan’s Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government that “the tactic of seeking ‘independence’ by speculating on Taiwan-related issues at the WHO will not succeed.”
The 74th World Health Assembly will be held from May 24 to June 1, and the annual assembly in Geneva will be held virtually this year as the new crown epidemic remains unabated.
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