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WHA participation depends on PRC
AT THE PRC¡¦S MERCY: Coen Blaauw of FAPA said that while
they always knew what was going on, it was ¡¥chilling¡¦ to see it written down in
official documents
By William Lowther
STAFF REPORTER IN WASHINGTON
Thursday, Apr 22, 2010, Page 3
¡§The invitation to attend the 2009 WHA was issued after the People¡¦s Republic
of China agreed to Taiwan¡¦s participation.¡¨
¡X US State Department statement
The US Department of State is supporting Taiwan¡¦s continued ¡§observer status¡¨ in
the 193-member World Health Assembly (WHA), the supreme governing body of the
WHO.
¡§As we plan for the 63rd WHA session this May, the US welcomes the extension of
WHA¡¦s invitation once again to Taiwan to send an observer delegation,¡¨ read a
statement issued on Tuesday night in Washington.
BEIJING
¡§The invitation to attend the 2009 WHA was issued after the People¡¦s Republic of
China agreed to Taiwan¡¦s participation,¡¨ the statement said.
Observers said that this was the first time the US had officially showed that
Taiwan¡¦s participation in the WHA was fully contingent on approval by Beijing.
¡§Of course, we always knew what was going on,¡¨ said Coen Blaauw, executive
director of the Formosan Association for Public Relations.
¡§But it is still chilling to see it written down. Taiwan¡¦s participation in the
WHA is at the complete mercy of the PRC,¡¨ he said.
¡§The participation of Taiwan in the WHA was a positive development and could
provide a model for Taiwan¡¦s participation as an observer in other UN bodies,¡¨
the State Department said.
¡§Taiwan has demonstrated its ability to positively participate in efforts to
address global health issues,¡¨ the state department statement said.
¡§We will coordinate closely with like-minded nations to effectively provide
support for Taiwan¡¦s meaningful participation in the work of the WHO,¡¨ it added.
COMMITMENT
It added that the US had a ¡§longstanding commitment¡¨ to finding practical ways
to advance Taiwan¡¦s participation in the work of the WHO.
¡§Our goal will be for the WHO to regularly invite Taiwan every year to attend
the WHA as an observer,¡¨ the statement said.
It said the WHO made progress toward providing Taiwan greater access to the work
of the organization and that the Secretariat established a mechanism for
Taiwan¡¦s direct participation in the implementation of the WHO¡¦s International
Health Regulations (IHR).
At the same time, the statement was careful to remain politically correct.
¡§The United States will continue to work with the WHO and its member states to
advance the universal application of the IHR and to involve Taiwan¡¦s experts in
relevant technical meetings of the WHO consistent with our ¡¥one China¡¦ policy,¡¨
the statement concluded.
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