MOFA thanks allies, partners for unprecedented backing of Taiwan’s WHA bid

2021/06/03

Unprecedented support from Taiwan’s allies and like-minded partners around the world for the country’s participation in the World Health Assembly is sincerely appreciated by the government and people, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said June 1.
 
A total of 14 of the country’s allies called on the World Health Organization to invite Taiwan to attend the WHA as an observer during the virtual 74th edition of the annual meeting, the MOFA said. Expressions of support were also delivered by representatives from like-minded partners including Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, New Zealand, the Czech Republic, the U.K. and the U.S., the ministry added.
 
Heads of government, ministers, officials and politicians from around the world have also publicly expressed support for Taiwan. These include Belgium Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sophie Wilmes; Canada PM Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Marc Garneau; France Minister of State for Tourism, French Nationals Abroad and Francophonie Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne; Japan PM Yoshihide Suga, Chief Cabinet Secretary Katsunobu Kato and Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi; Netherlands Foreign Minister Stef Blok and Medical Care and Sport Minister Tamara van Ark; Sweden PM Stefan Lofven; and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Secretary of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.
 
For the first time, foreign ministers representing the Group of Seven leading industrialized nations issued a communique including an explicit endorsement of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO and WHA, the MOFA said.
 
Furthermore, parliamentarians from over 100 countries have backed Taiwan for a seat at the WHA table, with related resolutions passed by bodies including the Central American Parliament, Czech and France Senates, Danish Parliament and U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee, the ministry added.
 
According to the MOFA, staunch support was also on show through the #LetTaiwanHelp social media campaign launched by the U.S. House of Representatives, the six Formosa Clubs in Africa, the Caribbean, Europe, Indo-Pacific, Latin America and West Asia, as well as letters written on Taiwan’s behalf by the World Medical Association Council, Standing Committee of European Doctors and other medical organizations in Latin America and Africa.
 
With such strong backing from the international community, the WHO should accept Taiwan’s participation in the WHA as an observer as well as in all related activities, mechanisms and meetings, the MOFA said, adding only through a seamless global health network can the world achieve Health For All.


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