by Brian Hioe

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English
Photo Credit: Guilhem Vellut/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

TAIWAN WAS AGAIN not invited to the World Health Assembly (WHA), the governing body of the World Health Organization (WHO), this year. This is despite a bid by Taiwan to secure admittance to the WHA as an observer, as previously took place when the Ma administration was in power. Nevertheless, Taiwan is currently excluded from the WHA as a result of Chinese pressure.

Taiwan has sought to call attention to its exclusion on a number of fronts. First, Taiwan has pointed to the successes of its COVID-19 response to highlight the contribution that Taiwan could potentially make to global health if it was allowed to participate.

Indeed, Taiwan sought to use the accolades it won globally for its handling of the COVID-19 pandemic to try and increase its international space. Donations of Taiwanese medical masks and other medical supplies took place with the claim that Taiwan could help.

Secondly, Taiwan has highlighted the dangers that its exclusion from global health efforts poses, not only to Taiwan itself, but worldwide. After all, the COVID-19 pandemic in itself shows how global health efforts must necessarily be linked. But, to this extent, Taiwan could potentially be cut out of sharing of virus samples or vaccine distribution in the event of a future pandemic.

One notes that the WHO is not the only UN body from which Taiwan is excluded as a result of Chinese pressure. Similarly, Taiwan is excluded from the International Civil Aviation Organization, the UN body responsible for global aviation safety. Taiwan has sought to call attention to the dangers of its exclusion despite the large amount of air traffic that passes through Taiwan.

A number of countries, including European Union states and the US, expressed support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the WHA as an observer. During the WHA meeting from May 27th to June 1st, Minister of Health Chiu Tai-san still traveled to Geneva to conduct meetings on the sidelines of the WHA. Ministers of Health in Taiwan are usually called on to travel to Geneva in spite of Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHA, so as to draw attention to this fact, though such trips did not take place during the COVID-19 pandemic.

World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. Photo credit: Guilhem Vellut/Flickr/CC BY 2.0

Still, on the whole, there was less attention on Taiwan’s bid for admission to the WHA this year compared to past years. Taiwan’s efforts to secure admittance to the WHA as an observer were higher profile closer to the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as when US-China tensions were at their peak under the Trump administration.

The WHO leadership has proven willing to side with Chinese pressure against Taiwan in the past. WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus claimed without proof that Taiwan was engaged in a “racist” campaign against him when questioned about Taiwan’s exclusion in the past. Even so, at other times, Tedros claimed to be fond of Taiwan when questioned.

Likewise, in 2020, former assistant director general and senior adviser Bruce Aylward awkwardly sought to dodge questions from an RTHK journalist about why Taiwan was not allowed to participate in the WHA despite that it could assist with efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. Video of Aylward’s awkward attempt to avoid discussing Taiwan went viral.

It is generally thought that Tedros sought to placate China during the COVID-19 pandemic, so as to induce China into cooperating. This included echoing China’s stances on Taiwan. By contrast, the previous director-general of the WHA, Margaret Chan, did so representing China.

It is unlikely that Chinese pressure against Taiwan in the WHA or other international bodies will stop anytime soon. In particular, China will want to apply pressure to newly inaugurated president Lai Ching-te, as a sign that China views him as a pro-independence provocateur and does not intend to compromise.

It would not be surprising, in fact, if China seeks to constrain the amount of international space that Taiwan has further going forward. It is to be seen if China will seek to do this through international bodies under the UN as the WHO, as well as whether the US would seek to contend with China over influence within such bodies. Otherwise, it is not likely that Taiwan would have an opportunity to participate in the WHA in the future.

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