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WHO’s terminology
like a ‘slap’: DPP
CONSENSUS CONSEQUENCES? Party spokesmen and
legislators said a letter from the WHO to a European Parliament group showed the
‘true face’ of President Ma’s policy
By Chris Wang and Shih Hsiu-chuan / Staff Reporters
Democratic Progressive Party
Legislator Kuan Bi-ling, speaking at a press conference in Taipei yesterday,
holds up envelopes containing information about the WHO’s policy of treating
Taiwan as part of China.
Photo: CNA
The WHO’s insistence on referring to
Taiwan as a part of China was a slap in the face for the so-called “1992
consensus” advocated by President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九), the Democratic Progressive
Party (DPP) said yesterday.
Citing a letter sent by the WHO to the European Parliament’s Taiwan Friendship
Group (TFG) that said the designation of “Taiwan, China” has been the
organization’s consistent practice, DPP Legislator Kuan Bi-ling (管碧玲) said the
letter showed there was no such thing as “one China with different
interpretations,” as Ma and the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) have claimed the
consensus entails.
The letter, dated July 4 and signed by Gian Luca Berci, the WHO’s legal counsel,
on behalf of WHO Secretary-General Margaret Chan (陳馮富珍), was in response to a
TFG letter of protest in June.
The TFG letter accused the organization of undermining its own credibility by
referring to Taiwan as a province of China.
“The fundamental statement of WHO’s policy is found in World Health Assembly
Resolution 25.1, which states that the People’s Republic of China is the ‘only
legitimate representative of China to the World Health Organization,’” the
letter said.
“Since that resolution was adopted, the consistent practice of WHO has been to
conduct itself, with respect to Taiwan, China on the basis that it is not a
separate entity but a part of China. The United Nations and other specialized
agencies have adopted very similar decisions and follow the same practice,” the
letter said.
Three letters of protest were sent to the WHO after its reference to “Taiwan,
China,” in May, including letters from Taiwan’s government, a US senator and the
TFG, Kuan said.
Taiwan’s letter was sent in mid-May, but there has not been a reply from the
WHO, Kuan told a press conference in Taipei.
Ma should explain why the WHO refers to Taiwan as a province of China if the
“one China with different interpretations” principle stands, Kuan said, adding:
“Ma should also explain when we can interpret ‘one China’ differently, because
that never happened.”
The nation’s international participation has worsened to the point where it
“couldn’t even defend the name of ‘Chinese Taipei,’” DPP spokesman Lin Chun-hsien
(林俊憲) said.
The WHO’s practice was an opportunity for Taiwanese to understand the “true face
of the 1992 consensus,” which never represented the “one China with different
interpretations” as Ma has insisted, he said.
The DPP also questioned Ma’s pro-China position, citing a diplomatic cable
released by WikiLeaks that quoted Taipei Mayor Hau Lung-bin (郝龍斌) as saying Ma
had sent a special envoy to China during his 2008 presidential campaign to ask
Beijing to tone down its anti-Taiwan rhetoric so his campaign would not be
jeopardized.
“We suspect Ma reached a secret agreement with the Chinese, which explains why
he always has to kowtow to China,” DPP Legislator Wong Chin-chu (翁金珠) said.
“I wonder if the WikiLeaks cables have told us the whole story. Were there more
secret agreements [between Ma and China]?” DPP Legislator Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲)
said.
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) told a separate press
conference that the ministry knew of the WHO’s reply to the TFG before Kuan
disclosed it and had lodged a protest with the WHO.
The government has repeatedly registered its “stern protest” with the WHO over
the “inappropriate reference” and will continue to negotiate with the WHO on the
matter, Shen said.
The government also demanded in May that the WHO correct its designation of
Taiwan as a “province of China” in an internal memo, with a letter of protest
delivered by Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達) when he attended
WHA meeting, Shen said.
Although the WHO has not yet replied to Taiwan, the government “hasn’t relaxed
its efforts” to urge the WHO to address the problem, Shen said.
“In the reply [to Tannock], the WHO cited the WHA Resolution [25.1] to refer
Taiwan as a part of China. This is absolutely unacceptable,” Shen said.
Shen said the UN has remained rigid about its position of the reference being
used in the UN system since the Republic of China was forced out of the UN in
1971.
However, the mode adopted by the World Health Assembly (WHA) — the
decisionmaking arm of the WHO — for Taiwan’s formal participation in three
consecutive years in which minister-level officials participated under the name
“Chinese Taipei” and its participation in the IHR in the capacity of a “point of
contact in Taipei” have “opened a window of opportunity” for the country to be
able to participate in international affairs with dignity, Shen said.
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