In order to protect the health and well-being of its 23 million citizens, and to further contribute to global health cooperation, Taiwan urges to be invited to participate in the WHO. The reasons for such a request are as follows:
◎ The WHO Constitution states that “The objective of the World Health Organization shall be the attainment by
all peoples of the highest possible level of health”. This shows that the WHO is obligated to reach all peoples throughout the world, regardless of state boundaries.
◎ The WHO Constitution permits a wide variety of entities—including non-member states, international organizations, national organizations, and non-governmental organizations—to participate in the activities of the WHO. Five entities, for instance, have acquired the status of observer of the World Health Assembly (WHA) and are routinely invited to its assemblies.
◎ Both the WHO Constitution and the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights (ICESCR) declare that health is an essential element of human rights, and that no signatory shall impede on the health rights of others.
◎ Taiwan seeks to be invited to participate in the work of the WHA simply as an
observer, instead of as a full member, in order to allow the work of the WHO to proceed without creating political frictions, and to demonstrate Taiwan’s willingness to put aside political controversies for the common good of global health. This request is fundamentally based on professional health grounds and has nothing to do with the political issues of sovereignty and statehood.
◎ Taiwan currently participates as a full member in organizations such as the World Trade Organization (WTO), Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and several international fishing fora, in which the People’s Republic of China (PRC) is also a member. Taiwan has become an asset to all these institutions via flexible interpretation of the terms of membership.
◎ Closing the gap between the WHO and Taiwan is an urgent global health imperative. The health administration of Taiwan is the only competent body possessing and managing all the information on any outbreak in Taiwan of epidemics that could potentially threaten global health. Excluding Taiwan from the WHO’s Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network (GOARN), for example, is dangerous and self-defeating from a professional perspective.
◎ Since its establishment in 1949, the PRC has never exercised jurisdiction or control over Taiwan, nor do UN GA Res. 2758 (1971) and WHA Res. 25.1 (1972) address the question of the representation of Taiwan.
◎ The PRC has never used any fund for its national budget on the health needs of the Taiwanese people. Instead, it has relentlessly blocked Taiwan’s cooperation with the international health community.
◎ Taiwan seeks to participate in the WHO in order to both protect the health and well-being of its 23 million people, and further contribute to the multilateral health cooperation of the WHO system. There is simply no legal, professional, and ethical justification for the PRC’s objection to Taiwan’s participation, or for the WHO’s complicity in the implicit institutionalization of
“health apartheid” against the 23 million people of Taiwan.
◎ While the 23 million people of Taiwan are entitled to equal and fair protection under the WHO system, Taiwan is also committed to playing its part by working together with the world community and contributing its resources and experience to advancing the noble goal of health for
all peoples.
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