Experts call for Taiwan's inclusion in WHO Pandemic Agreement

Taipei, May 2 (CNA) Taiwan should be included in the World Health Organization (WHO) Pandemic Agreement and be able to participate as a "health or economic entity," or attend as an observer, experts said at a seminar on Thursday.

The WHO Pandemic Agreement, which was first initiated during the COVID-19 pandemic and is currently being negotiated by the 194 WHO member states, is expected to be finalized and passed during the 77th World Health Assembly (WHA), scheduled to take place from May 27 to June 1.

The objective of the WHO Pandemic Agreement is to "prevent, prepare for and respond to pandemics" while being "guided by equity," as outlined in the proposal of the agreement issued by the WHO on April 22.

However, Taiwan -- not a member of the WHO - has neither received an invitation to be a signatory of the agreement nor been asked to participate in the upcoming WHA meeting held in Geneva, Switzerland, due to pressure from China.

It is important that Taiwan is part of the agreement, as being so would enable the country to swiftly obtain information and acquire necessary epidemic prevention materials for its citizens, said Tony Chen (陳秀熙), a professor at the College of Public Health at the National Taiwan University.

"If we were to review the COVID-19 pandemic, we would say that if information had been made transparent earlier, and if sharing of epidemic prevention materials and medical equipment had been more evenly distributed worldwide... we might have been able to stave off such a large disaster," Chen argued.

As a global role model in public health, Taiwan could adopt a regional or alliance-based approach as a health or an economic entity and become part of the agreement as a signatory or an observer, he added.

Echoing Chen's views, Lin Shih-chia (林世嘉), the executive director of the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan, urged countries supporting Taiwan to advocate for "all states" or "economic or health entities" to be able to become signatories of the agreement during negotiations with other WHO member states.

If Taiwan fails to become a signatory to the agreement, it is hoped that the country can still attend the meetings as an observer and glean epidemic prevention information, Lin added.

The Republic of China (ROC), Taiwan's official name, left the WHO in 1972 following a decision by the U.N. to expel the ROC and recognize the People's Republic of China (PRC) as the only "legitimate representative of China."

The WHA is the WHO's decision-making body, which meets annually to determine WHO policies.

Taiwan was invited to attend the WHA from 2009 to 2016 as an observer but did not receive such an invitation in 2017 due to pressure from Beijing.