President calls Taiwan's exclusion from WHO "unethical"

This article was written by Shih Ying-ying and published by the Taiwan Journal on May 26, 2006. It reports that President Chen Shui-bian recently urged member states of the European Union to continue their support for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Assembly. According to the president, the continuing exclusion of Taiwan from the global disease prevention system was "unfair" and "unethical".

Chen made these comments in a videoconference with prominent European opinion leaders in Geneva. The videoconference was attended by more than 100 journalists, academics, members of the European Parliament, non-governmental organization representatives, and diplomats from Taiwan's allies.

According to Chen, because of China's relentless oppression, Taiwan has been shut out of the United Nations and all of its affiliates, including the World Health Organization. As a result, the 23 million Taiwanese people and nearly 400,000 foreign residents in Taiwan are being deprived of their rights. "This is completely unfair, and might even be called unethical," Chen said.

Chen expressed his gratitude that the European Parliament passed a resolution in May 2006 in support of Taiwan's endeavor. The European Parliament also called for the immediate inclusion of Taiwan's Center of Disease Control as a participant in the WHO Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network. Indeed, Chen thanked the European Union's member states for their support over the years of Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization's activities.

According to Chen, Taiwan understands the reality of international politics. Therefore, the government has sought to avoid disputes concerning sovereignty and politics by only applying, with "humility and sincerity", for observer status in the World Health Assembly. Taiwan is not demanding any formal membership in the World Health Organization, but its request has been rejected repeatedly.

According to Chen, while it is important to know whether Taiwan's efforts will succeed in 2006, these efforts are "no less meaningful if, during the course of the appeal, the global community can come to better understand the unfair and unreasonable treatment that Taiwan's people receive in the world arena, and if we can make more friends and win greater support".

The videoconference was presided over by the European Institute of Asian Studies. during the two-hour event, Chen also exchanged views with prominent European opinion leaders on a range of other issues, including cross-strait ties and Taiwan's relations with European countries.