CORONAVIRUS/Taiwan invited to second virtual Global COVID-19 Summit: FM

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Monday said that Taiwan has been invited to attend an upcoming Global COVID-19 Summit organized by the United States.

Fielding questions during a Legislative session, Wu said the country has again been invited to the Global COVID-19 Summit scheduled for May 12.

He, however, refused to disclose who will be representing Taiwan in the upcoming summit, explaining it was to show respect to the event organizers.

Wu told opposition Kuomintang (KMT) Legislator Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) that the ministry will make public that information at the conclusion of the summit, in keeping with its practice in the previous year.

Former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) represented Taiwan at the inaugural virtual Global COVID-19 Summit that was convened on Sept. 22, 2021 by U.S. President Joe Biden from the White House.

According to a statement released by the White House last month, the upcoming second edition of the summit will build on efforts and commitments made at the first summit in September, including getting more people vaccinated, sending tests and treatments to highest-risk populations, expanding protections to health care workers and generating financing for pandemic preparedness.

Wu also told Chiang that despite the fact that Taiwan has been experiencing record-high daily domestic COVID-19 cases for the past weeks, the country currently does not need help from the international community to combat the domestic outbreak.

Wu said the ministry has been closely in touch with the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on whether Taiwan needed foreign assistance, when asked by Chiang on the issue.

In response, Wu said that the CECC told the ministry that the government was still capable of combating the ongoing surge in domestic cases.

Meanwhile, Wu told lawmakers that Taiwan was still waiting for an invitation to join the 75th World Health Assembly (WHA) that is scheduled to take place from May 22 to 28.

Without disclosing details, the minister said this year more and more countries are showing their support to Taiwan in regaining its seat in the WHA, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization.

Regardless of whether Taiwan will be invited to attend this year's WHA, Deputy Health Minister Lee Li-feng (李麗芬) and other government officials will still travel to Geneva to share Taiwan's healthcare experience on the sidelines of the annual WHA, as has been done in the past, according to Wu.

Taiwan participated in WHA events as an observer from 2009 to 2016 under the designation "Chinese Taipei" when relations between Beijing and Taipei were warmer during the then KMT administration in Taiwan.

Since 2017, however, Taiwan has been excluded from the WHA due to opposition from China, which has taken a hard line against President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) and her Democratic Progressive Party for their advocacy of Taiwan's sovereignty as an independent state.

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