Taiwan on Monday said it has “not yet” received an invitation to a meeting this month of the World Health Organization’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly. It added, however, it will seek to take part of it.
The country has been largely excluded from involvement with the WHO due to pressure from China, which refuses to acknowledge the island’s sovereignty.
Last week, the WHO said the assembly will take place virtually from May 18. Taiwan foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said the government had “not yet received an invitation from WHO” and was “still awaiting” it so a delegation could attend as an observer and share the island’s experience in fighting the coronavirus.
Taiwan attended the World Health Assembly as an observer from 2009-2016 when Taipei-Beijing relations warmed, but China blocked further participation after the election of Taiwan’s president Tsai Ing-wen. Relations between Taiwan and China have been on the decline since 2016 when Tsai, who has taken a more pro-Taiwan stance than her main competitor, was first elected president.
“Although the current situation we are facing is still very difficult, the government will never give up, and will join with allies and countries with similar ideals to continue to strive until the last moment”, Ou said.
While China faces global criticism for its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, Taiwan is being praised by health experts for its own handling of the outbreak.
China in recent weeks has dramatically increased its military drills around Taiwan, a move seen as Beijing’s provocation.
