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One of the top stories from this past week was that the World Health Organization has sent Taiwan an invitation to this year’s meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA). According to a Taiwanese official stationed in Switzerland, the World Health Organization sent the invitation on Friday.
This year’s WHA meeting will take place in Geneva beginning on May 23, three days after Taiwan’s presidential inauguration. Confirmation that Taiwan has received an invitation ends speculation that China was working to prevent Taiwan from attending this year’s meeting because of displeasure over the upcoming inauguration of Tsai Ing-wen, whose Democratic Progressive Party is seen as being wary of Beijing.
On Friday, Presidential Office spokesman Charles Chen said the invitation shows the two sides continue to enjoy friendly ties built on the basis of the 1992 Consensus. Chen said the government welcomes the invitation, and will pass it on to representatives from the incoming administration.
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Also this past week, President Ma Ying-jeou called on Japan to hold talks about the disputed waters off the Okinotori reefs.
In a Facebook post on Saturday, Ma said that Japan and Taiwan should begin discussions over the dispute as soon as possible. Ma recommended referring the dispute to a mediator or international court if the two sides are unable to reach a consensus.
The Okinotori Atoll is a Japanese reef in the Pacific Ocean. Japan claims that the atoll is an island, giving it the right to a 200 nautical mile Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) under international law. Taiwan argues that the atoll is not an island, and that Japan’s EEZ claim is therefore invalid.
The disagreement surfaced in late April when Japan seized a Taiwanese fishing boat operating in waters near the reefs. The ship and its crew have since been returned. But Taiwan says it does not recognize a Japanese EEZ in the area, and argues that the boat was in international waters.
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And finally, this past week, another 32 Taiwanese fraud suspects were extradited from Malaysia to China. That has stirred more controversy over Taiwan’s judicial sovereignty as a similar extradition occurred recently with Taiwanese fraud suspects found in Kenya.
Taiwan’s Deputy Foreign Minister Javier Hou said in the legislature on Monday that Malaysia’s prime minister had expressed regret over the incident.
The justice ministry said it has received a report from China saying that the 32 suspects are being held at a detention center in Guangdong. China has officially invited Taiwan to send a delegation to investigate the case together.
Meanwhile, the Legislature’s Foreign and National Defense Committee will hold a hearing on Monday to discuss the several dozen Taiwanese nationals being held in China.