Taiwan, China to set precedent at WHA stage

Although the Republic of China (ROC) was one of the founding members of the World Health Organization (WHO) when it was established in 1948, the ROC was forced to withdraw from the health body in 1972 after losing its U.N. membership to the People's Republic of China (PRC) in 1971.

Since then, officials of the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have never attended a meeting or activity affiliated with the U.N. together.

“This year's WHA will be of tremendous significance because it will set a precedent for health ministers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait, who will be meeting for the first time in a U.N. specialized agency forum,” according to a Foreign Ministry official who spoke on condition of anonymity.

Taiwan received an invitation April 28 from Margaret Chan, director-general of the world Health Organization (WHO), to take part as an observer under the name “Chinese Taipei” in this year's WHA meeting, which is scheduled for May 18-27 in Geneva.

It will be the first time that Taiwan will attend an annual meeting of the decision-making arm of the WHO, after 12 failed attempts to do so. It will also be the first time since 1972 that Taiwan will participate in a meeting or activity of a U.N. specialized agency.

Health Minister Yeh Ching-chuan will lead a 15-member delegation comprised of heath officials and experts on international health regulations to the 62nd WHA meeting.

The foreign affairs official said that Taiwan will not be demeaned under any circumstances, as Yeh will be addressed as “minister” and the delegation as “Chinese Taipei.”

The relevant government agencies in Taiwan have made preparations for possible interaction between Yeh and China's Health Minister Chen Zhu, and have worked out issues like how they should address each other, according to the official.

Yeh will attend the general discussions at the WHA meeting, meet with health ministers from Taiwan's diplomatic allies and deliver a speech at the World Medical Association, the official said.

The Foreign Ministry's representative office in Geneva is also organizing bilateral meetings between Yeh and health ministers from major countries, such as the United States and Japan, the official added.

“We're having some difficulty arranging such meetings at the moment because health ministers are cutting short their attendance at the WHA due to the global outbreak of H1N1 swine flu,” the official said.

In light of the outbreak of the new strain of influenza, the WHO Secretariat is discussing with its members the possibility of ending the annual meeting sooner, on May 22, so that health officials can return earlier to their countries to oversee disease prevention and control.

Meanwhile, a foreign ministry official, citing a recent poll that showed more than 70 percent of the Taiwan people support the use of the name Chinese Taipei in the WHA, said the public wants to see Taiwan join U.N. agencies and expand its international participation.

Moreover, the positive responses by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, France, Japan, Singapore and Canada to the WHA invitation to Taiwan are an indication of the gain in worldwide recognition generated from Taiwan's bid to participate in international organizations, the official said.

“Such enthusiastic responses are unprecedented,” the official said. “The Foreign Ministry hopes that in light of the positive responses, China will remain pragmatic in dealing with the issue of Taiwan's international participation.”

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