Taiwan’s foreign ministry on Sunday called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to allow Taiwan to participate in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) in November.
The WHA will resume its 2020 session on November 9, and will be deciding if Taiwan can participate in future sessions as an observer. Its first session this year was held on May 18-19, but Taiwan was denied participation due to pressure from China, which sees Taiwan as part of its territory.
The foreign ministry says the WHO has yet to confirm whether the upcoming assembly will be held in person or online. The ministry says, though, that it’s already working with the health ministry and civic groups to lobby for Taiwan to participate as an observer.
This year, Taiwan has unprecedented support from the international community. The foreign ministry says that WHO member states calling for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA include: Canada, Japan, Australia, New Zealand and the US.
Earlier this year, Taiwan put in a request for a vote on whether it can regain its observer status in the WHA. It later withdrew the request in May, with Foreign Minister Joseph Wu saying the WHA session should focus on discussing how to fight COVID-19.