Latest bid for WHA observership supported by Taiwanese emigres

This article was written by Shih Ying-ying and published by the Taiwan Journal on April 14, 2006. It reports that Taiwan's most recent bid to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) received support from a wide range of Taiwanese émigré groups in the United States, including the Northern California Chapter of the North American Taiwanese Medical Association. This year's bid is Taiwan's 10th attempt to apply for observer status at the WHA, which is the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

The Taiwanese Medical Association sent delegations to the World Health Organization every year to voice their support for Taiwan's bids. It is expected that more than 100 health professionals from North America will attend the World Health Assembly's annual meeting in Geneva this year to protest China's obstruction and the unfair treatment on Taiwan.

Thanks to years of efforts by many overseas and local organizations, the United States and Japan have openly expressed their support for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization. The European Union has also become more sympathetic toward Taiwan.

In recent years, Taiwan has been playing the part of a reasonable member in the global village by sending medical missions all over the world and offering aids to disaster-stricken regions. It is hoped that the international society will recognize Taiwan's contribution to global public health by supporting Taiwan's entry to the World Health Assembly.

The World Health Assembly's annual meeting in 2006 will take place on May 22-27. The focus of Taiwan's bid this year is on the nation's "meaningful participation" in the international organization. The term "meaningful participation" is defined as Taiwan's inclusion in the World Health Organization's Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, a mechanism for the rapid identification, confirmation and response to outbreaks of international importance and to attend all professional and technical seminars. Meanwhile, Taiwan is also willing to be part of the universal application of the International Health Regulations, which aims to prevent, protect against, control and provide a public health response to the international spread of disease and to avoid unnecessary interference with international traffic and trade.

Apart from health practitioners in North America, a group of Taiwanese medical professionals in Europe recently also called on the European Union to support Taiwan's bid to participate in the World Health Assembly as an observer. according to the European Federation of Taiwan health Alliance, Taiwan's exclusion violates the World Health Organization's principle of universality. It also poses a threat to the health of the people of Taiwan and the rest of the world.

At present, Taiwan cannot obtain information regarding the prevention and control of infectious diseases because it is not a member of the World Health Organization. Even if some countries intend to cooperate with Taiwan, they have to face strong pressure from China.

Although the European Parliament passed a resolution in 2003 that urged its member nations to support Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization, the European Union has continued to ignore the resolution.

At the World Health Assembly's annual meeting in 2004, Japan and the United States voted in favor of Taiwan's observer status for the first time, but Taiwan's bid ultimately failed. In 2005, only the United States, Japan and Taiwan's 23 allies supported the nation's bid for observer status.