Taiwan acknowledges difficulty in participating in the WHO assembly this year despite support

Taiwanese authorities acknowledge that it will be difficult for the island to participate in this year’s World Health Organization (WHO) annual assembly, but hope that more countries will support its presence, the Taiwanese foreign minister said on Thursday, after the United States States to press for an invitation.

Taiwan is excluded from most international organizations due to objections from China, which considers the island its own territory.

The island participated in the World Health Assembly as an observer from 2009 to 2016, under the administration of then-president Ma Ying-jeou, who signed important trade and tourism agreements with China.

But Beijing began blocking Taiwan’s membership in 2017, after President Tsai Ing-wen won office for her refusal to agree with the Chinese position that both China and Taiwan are part of “one China.”

Speaking to reporters in Parliament, Taiwanese Foreign Minister Joseph Wu noted a Wednesday statement from US Secretary of State Antony Blinken in which he said the US “strongly encourages” the WHO to reinstate the invitation from Taiwan.

“When it comes to participating in this year’s assembly, there may be some difficulties, but we continue to work hard as before to get more countries to support us,” Wu said, without elaborating.

This year’s WHO annual assembly begins on May 27, just a week after Taiwan’s elected president Lai Ching-te takes office. China dislikes Lai, accusing him of being a dangerous separatist, and has rejected his repeated calls for dialogue.

Taiwan, which is allowed to attend some WHO technical meetings, says its exclusion has hampered efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to Blinken’s statement, the US commends the WHO for taking steps to more meaningfully involve Taiwan in its technical work over the past year and for improving lines of communication.

“However, Taiwan’s continued exclusion from this prominent global health forum undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security,” he added. “Inviting Taiwan to observe the assembly is an extremely important step towards affirming the WHO’s goal of ‘Health for All'”

China’s Foreign Ministry said it was “strongly opposed” to Blinken’s comments, which the ministry said in essence condones and supports Taiwan separatism.

The WHO did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

In recent years, China has increased diplomatic and military pressure against Taiwan to force the island to accept Chinese sovereignty.

Taiwan’s government rejects China’s claims and says only the island’s 23 million people can decide its future and that Beijing has no right to speak or represent Taiwan on the international stage.