Taiwan medical groups urge WHO to invite Taiwan to WHA as observer

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) Twenty-one major medical associations in Taiwan urged the World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer in this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) and acknowledge its "contributions to global health."

The 78th WHA -- the annual meeting of the WHO's decision-making body -- will take place in Geneva from May 19-27, but Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations (U.N.), has yet to receive an invitation to the assembly as of Friday.

That means the odds are quite high that Taiwan will be excluded from the WHA for a ninth consecutive year, but in what has become an annual ritual over the past decade, the medical groups still tried to make a case for Taiwan's participation on Friday.

"We strongly urge the WHO to acknowledge Taiwan's contributions to global health, and we hope that Taiwan can be invited to participate in this year's WHA and its related mechanisms as an observer," said Taiwan Medical Association President Chou Ching-ming (周慶明) at a news conference.

Speaking at the Taipei event, attended by representatives from 21 major local medical associations, Chou said Taiwan's health system has ranked first in the world for seven consecutive years, citing the Health Care Index compiled by the online database Numbeo.

"Excluding such an outstanding student from the school and denying the student the opportunity to engage with others is profoundly unfair and unjust," he said.

In the same vein, Taiwan Union of Nurses Association President Chen Li-chin (陳麗琴) said the exclusion of Taiwan from the WHA "clearly contradicts the WHO's universal value that 'health is a basic human right.'"

Representing the medical associations in delivering a joint statement, Chen said Taiwan's experience and capabilities in public health should not be overlooked, citing the country's achievements in COVID-19 prevention, medical technology, and international humanitarian aid.

Those contributions are particularly valuable in addressing global challenges such as emerging infectious disease threats and aging societies, she said.

Shih Chin-shui (施金水), director of the Ministry of Health and Welfare's Office of International Cooperation, told reporters on the sidelines that Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) will lead a delegation to Geneva next weekend, ahead of the WHA's opening.

The delegation plans to meet with representatives from more than 40 countries and major international organizations, he said, adding that specific details remain confidential as the meetings are still being arranged.

The Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, left the WHO in 1972 following the adoption of U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758.

It explicitly expelled "the representatives of Chiang Kai-shek" (蔣介石) -- the leader of the ROC government at the time -- and recognized the representatives of the People's Republic of China as the "only legitimate representatives of China."

Since then, Taiwan has been shut out from the WHA due to Beijing's pressure, except from 2009 to 2016 as an observer under the name "Chinese Taipei" when relations with China were warmer under Taiwan's then-Kuomintang government.

It also attended in 2016, just days after former President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) of the Democratic Progressive Party took office, but has not participated since.

During the 2009-2016 period, the medical and other activist groups were still engaged in the process but were primarily focused on changing Taiwan's "Chinese Taipei" designation at the WHA to "Taiwan."