Taiwan considers its exclusion from the WHO assembly “deeply regrettable”

Taipei, May 15 (EFE).- The Taiwanese Government considers “deeply regrettable” the island’s exclusion from the general assembly of the World Health Organization (WHO), which will take place from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva .

The island’s Foreign Minister, Joseph Wu, acknowledged this Wednesday that the island faces multiple difficulties in attending this year’s assembly, while highlighting the increase in international support for its participation in the forum.

“The strategy remains the same as last year, actively seeking the support of more countries and working together with the WHO Secretariat. Through direct negotiations, public speeches and written methods, Taiwan has won over more countries and at a higher level than before,” Wu said at the legislative headquarters.

This Monday the deadline to register for the 77th general assembly of the WHO expired and Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, could not formalize its application because it did not receive a formal invitation from the organization, according to the state news agency CNA.

In a report sent to Parliament, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry called on the WHO to address Taiwan’s contributions to global health “head-on,” stressing that its exclusion from the assembly constitutes a “risk” at the international level.

Taiwan’s absence for the eighth consecutive year “not only ignores the rights of the 23.5 million inhabitants” of the island, “but also the health and well-being of all humanity,” the document indicated.

However, Taiwan’s incoming Health Minister, Chiu Tai-yuan, and the vice president of the Legislature, Johnny Chiang, will travel to Geneva in the coming days to promote the island’s participation in the assembly, according to CNA.

China, which considers the island – autonomously governed since 1949 – as part of its territory, defends that Taiwan cannot participate in the meeting as it is not an independent country.

However, between 2009 and 2016, when Taiwan was governed by the Kuomintang (KMT) and relations between Beijing and Taipei were experiencing a certain rapprochement, the island was able to act as an observer at the WHO assemblies.

That “thaw” ended with the election of Tsai Ing-wen, of the Democratic Progressive Party (PDP), as island president in 2016: since then, Beijing has blocked Taiwan’s attempts to participate in these assemblies, and relations through the narrow have worsened.

This year’s assembly will begin on May 27, just a week after the island’s elected leader, William Lai (Lai Ching-te), also of the PDP, assumes the position of president.