Two WHO member states have proposed discussing Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body.
That’s the word from a WHO official, who did not specify which countries made the proposal. Taiwan participated in the World Health Assembly as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei from 2009 to 2016. However, it has been barred from participating since President Tsai Ing-wen took office in May 2016.
This year, the assembly will not meet in Geneva as usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is set to hold an online conference instead on May 18 and 19. However, this change of plan has not stopped calls to let Taiwan participate in the body once again.
In recent months, the US, the EU, and Japan, as well as Taiwan’s diplomatic allies have openly expressed support for letting Taiwan take part. The US has launched a “Tweet for Taiwan” campaign to show why it believes Taiwan should be allowed back in the assembly.
At a press conference in Geneva on Monday, WHO Principal Legal Officer Steven Solomon addressed questions about Taiwan’s World Health Assembly participation.
He said, “Some 49 years ago the UN and WHO had decided that there is only one legitimate representative of China within the UN system and that is the People's Republic of China. That decision still stands.”
Solomon also said that the WHO secretariat has no authority to decide on Taiwan's inclusion. He said instead that that decision needs to be made by all 194 member states.
Solomon commended Taiwan for its containment of COVID-19 and thanked Taiwan for its contributions towards fighting the disease.
He also said that Taiwan has been able to participate in some WHO meetings. However, the foreign ministry says that the WHO has rejected 70% of Taiwan’s requests to participate in WHO meetings.