Taiwan's participation in global health affairs will not stop: Lai

Taipei, June 1 (CNA) President Lai Ching-te (賴清德) said Saturday that Taiwan will continue participating in global health affairs, despite the exclusion of the proposal to permit Taiwan to join the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer from the 2024 WHA agenda.

Lai made the remarks while receiving a delegation led by Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) at the Presidential Office. The delegation traveled to Geneva to advocate for Taiwan's participation in the WHA, the World Health Organization's (WHO) decision-making body.

The 77th WHA was held from May 27 to June 1 in Geneva, but Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, could not join because it did not receive an invitation to the WHA for an eighth consecutive year.

In his speech, Lai thanked the delegation for its efforts, noting that more bilateral meetings had been held in Geneva than in previous years, and been attended by higher-ranking officials.

He added that the delegation had also collaborated with various medical and health organizations to host specialized forums aligning with key WHA issues. He said this demonstrated Taiwan's contribution to global public health and the human right to health.

He also said that international support for Taiwan's inclusion in the WHA has grown stronger over the years, with 26 WHA member states and the European Union (EU) -- an observer -- directly or indirectly voicing their support.

This shows Taiwan is an indispensable member of the international community in terms of ensuring global health security, Lai said.

According to a Ministry of Foreign Affairs statement released Saturday, in addition to the 11 countries Taiwan has diplomatic ties with, 15 other countries including the U.S., Japan, and France showed support for Taiwan's inclusion in the WHA.

Out of these 26 countries and the EU, New Zealand directly mentioned Taiwan for the first time, while the Netherlands indirectly expressed support for Taiwan by emphasizing that no one should be left out, the statement said.

Belgium, speaking in its capacity as the presidency of the Council of the EU, also called for all people and regions to be included.

In addition, Taiwan's diplomatic allies, namely Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Tuvalu and Belize, as well as the United States, refuted China's misinterpretation of the U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 and the WHA Resolution 25.1.

Taiwan, whose official name is the Republic of China, was expelled from the WHO in 1972 after losing its U.N. seat to the People's Republic of China due to the issue of "China's representation."

Taiwan was allowed to attend the WHA as an observer under the designation "Chinese Taipei" from 2009 to 2016 when cross-Taiwan Strait relations were warmer under the then Kuomintang government.

However, Taiwan has been blocked from attending every WHA assembly since 2017, following the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party's ascent to power in 2016.