Foreign minister hoping to visit Geneva after Taiwan excluded from WHA

Taipei, May 11 (CNA) Taiwan's top diplomat is trying to arrange a trip to Geneva to take part in events Taiwan is organizing to coincide with the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) as the country has not received an invitation to the WHA for a 10th consecutive year, he said Monday.

Asked whether he would travel to Geneva to join a team advocating for Taiwan's inclusion in the 79th WHA, Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) told opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Yeh Yuan-chih (葉元之) that his ministry was drafting such a plan, without elaborating.

Later Monday, when asked about the issue again during a press event on Taiwan's efforts to join the WHA this year, Lin declined to provide additional details, saying only that the ministry would publicly announce the visit if the plan were finalized.

The WHA is the annual decision-making meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), and Taiwan has not attended since 2016, when it went as an observer while ties with Beijing were better.

Instead, it has staged events in Geneva, where the WHO is headquartered and the WHA is held, to coincide with the WHA, but no Taiwanese foreign minister has ever publicly visited Geneva or attended Taiwan's WHA action team events in the Swiss city.

Taiwan and Switzerland do not have official diplomatic ties, making it unlikely that Lin would be allowed to visit Geneva in an official capacity.

Previously, only Taiwan's health minister was able to be part of the WHA action team, which is organized jointly by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

At Monday's press event, Lin and Health Minister Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said that, aside from regular side events and seminars organized by Taiwan's government, this year's action team will hold an exhibition showcasing the country's smart healthcare innovations and overseas medical aid programs.

The Taiwan Smart Medical & HealthTech Expo will take place in Geneva from May 17-19. It will feature 30 Taiwanese companies specializing in smart and innovative healthcare, as well as several of Taiwan's leading medical centers.

"We want to show the world that despite not being a member of the WHO nor being able to attend the WHA, Taiwan is still contributing to global healthcare," Lin said.

The 79th WHA is scheduled to take place in Geneva from May 18-23, bringing together WHO member states to set global health policies and priorities.

Taiwan has yet to receive an invitation to attend, and China said on Monday afternoon that it had decided not to agree to the "Taiwan area" attending this year's WHA, dashing any hopes of a breakthrough.

The Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, withdrew from the WHO in 1972 after U.N. member states recognized the People's Republic of China as the sole legitimate representative of China.

Since then, Taiwan has been unable to attend the WHA even as an observer because of pressure from Beijing, except from 2009 to 2016, when relations with China were warmer under Taiwan's then-KMT government.