Foreign Minister Wu urges WHO to recognize Taiwan is Taiwan

2020/02/04

The World Health Organization must recognize Taiwan is Taiwan and stop violating the health rights of the country’s 23 million people, according the Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu Feb. 2.
 
“Taiwan is not under China’s jurisdiction; Taiwan’s and China’s health are administered by separate and independent health authorities; and Taiwan’s and China’s flight information regions are administered by separate and independent civil aviation administrations,” Wu said. “This is such a simple reality that the WHO should never have missed it.”
 
Wu made the remarks during a special news conference addressing issues stemming from the global outbreak of the new coronavirus first reported in the Chinese city of Wuhan late last year.
 
 According to Wu, the WHO’s decision to include Taiwan as part of China in its report on the international health emergency has created “real problems” for Taiwan. These include Italy banning flights from Taiwan Jan. 31, a move followed by Vietnam a day later but reversed after intense diplomatic efforts by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
 
“The number of confirmed cases of coronavirus in Taiwan is not higher than in most countries that are affected,” Wu said. No other country aside from China has had its flights banned, and the MOFA is working through all diplomatic channels to resolve the issue with Italy, he added.
 
 Wu said the WHO’s mistreatment of Taiwan keeps the country out of the World Health Assembly—the governing body of the U.N. specialized agency—and ensures government officials cannot participate in related activities, mechanisms and meetings. “If the motto of the WHO is health for all and leave no one behind, the Taiwanese people are certainly not treated that way,” he added.
 
 The staunch support for Taiwan’s meaningful WHO participation by like-minded partners such as the diplomatic allies, Canada, Japan, the EU and U.S. was also praised by Wu. “Their strong voice should not be ignored.”

Source: Taiwan Today (https://taiwantoday.tw/index.php)