Foreign Minister Joseph Wu and Health Minister Chen Shih-chung have each made the case for Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHO in separate interviews with foreign media outlets.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu featured on the May 2 edition of The Foreign Desk, a podcast by British internet radio station Monocle 24. The episode was titled “What can the world learn from Taiwan?”
In the episode, Wu spoke about the lessons Taiwan learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak and how they left Taiwan prepared for COVID-19. He spoke about Taiwan’s work to stockpile and distribute essential supplies, ensure that it had adequate medical resources, and prepare for the economic impact of a pandemic.
Wu said that this model of preparedness could work in other countries, too, and that Taiwan wants to share its model with the world. He said this is why the WHO should include Taiwan.
Meanwhile, Italian online paper Affari Italiani has published a piece by Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, who also heads Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center. In his article, Chen wrote that while Taiwan is not a WHO member, it has done its part as a responsible member of the international community, reporting new cases to the WHO and sharing information about COVID-19 with other countries.
Chen called Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO due to political factors “unwise”. He said that Taiwan has experience with public health, running a medical system, and fighting disease that it can share with the world. He said he hopes the COVID-19 crisis will convince the WHO of the harm that can come when any gap is left in global efforts to prevent disease.
Chen also described Taiwan’s quarantine and mask distribution systems, factors that have helped curb the spread of COVID-19 in Taiwan and ensured that there are enough surgical masks to go around.