The World Health Assembly (WHA) 78th session will take place in Geneva, Switzerland on May 19. Each year civil groups hold a large Taiwan-centric parade the day before the conference. With growing international support for Taiwan, international civil groups such as those from the United States, Europe, and Japan will be invited to participate in the event for the first time this year.
The U.S. State Department’s Bureau of International Organization Affairs took to X (formerly Twitter) this week to express how excluding Taiwan from important international forums such as the WHA directly negatively impacts the well-being of the American people and the global community. The bureau called for the restoration of Taiwan’s participation in the WHA as an observer and stated that there is no reasonable justification to exclude Taiwan.
Medical Professionals Alliance CEO Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉), who has advocated for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA, said the World Health Organization (WHO) is holding meetings to discuss raising the WHO membership fees. Lin said that all members besides China agreed to the proposal and that China additionally criticized countries that had made pro-Taiwan remarks.
Taiwan United Nations Alliance spokesperson Tseng Tsung-kai (曾琮愷) noted that the Foreign Ministry has been in communications with various civil organizations and that this year’s activities will extend to Zurich, where a forum to rally support for Taiwan to Swiss parliamentarians will be held. Tseng said an AI medical technology exhibition will also showcase Taiwan’s medical technological capabilities.