Filipino businesses and overseas Taiwanese showed their support for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) at an awareness run this Sunday called “Taiwan for WHA.”
Nearly 100 people took part in the run at the Ayala Triangle Gardens in Makati, including Taiwanese business owners, overseas Taiwanese, and representatives from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in the Philippines. The jogging team wore shirts with “Taiwan for WHA” on them, distributing wristbands with the same inscription on them to joggers along the route.
With the 78th WHA approaching on May 19 in Geneva, Switzerland, Taiwan likely faces its ninth consecutive year of exclusion as it has not yet received an official invitation to the conference.
Representative to the Philippines Wallace M.G. Chow (周民淦) said he hopes the event will increase Filipino nationals’ awareness of Taiwan’s situation, in turn supporting its participation in the WHA and World Health Organization (WHO). Chow highlighted Taiwan’s achievements in health, including its contributions to the international community during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said Taiwan has been excluded from the WHO due to political factors, which is unfair to Taiwan and the rest of the world.
Lin Teng-feng (林登峰), president of the Taiwan Association Inc. Philippines (TAP), an organization that assists Taiwanese business owners in the Philippines, said that health has no borders and that Taiwan must be heard as a powerful leader in public health that has greatly contributed to global health.
Taiwan fully meets the technical and scientific standards for participating in the organization, according to event organizer and TAP Vice President Hsieh Chia-chen (謝佳蓁). Hsieh said business owners should also speak up for Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO, which violates the principle of universal health.
This awareness run marks the second public show of support for Taiwan in the Philippines this month after the “Taiwan Can Help” “Health for All” charity walk that took place May 3.