Health Minister Lin Tzou-yien has received an attendance pass for the World Health Assembly (WHA).
This will ensure that Lin and the Taiwanese delegation he heads will be able to attend the assembly.
Taiwan has been an observer at the WHA forum every year since 2009. But until this year's invitation arrived, there had been speculation that pressure from Beijing would leave Taiwan unable to attend this year’s forum. That’s because President Tsai Ing-wen is seen as wary of Beijing. Tsai has also avoided any explicit references to “One China”, a concept that Beijing insists Taiwan’s presidents publically accept.
Lin received his attendance pass on Saturday. The nationality column is filled in with the French words for “Chinese Taipei”. Chinese Taipei is the designation Taiwan often uses in international settings to avoid the contentious issue of its political status. When asked about possible pressure from China during the forum, Lin said his team has drawn up plans. He also said that his delegation will interact with Chinese representatives if the two groups meet.