Taiwan Faces Difficulty Attending World Health Assembly Amid Chinese Opposition

Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu has expressed the challenges Taiwan faces in attending the 2024 World Health Assembly (WHA) due to China's continued opposition. Taiwan attended the WHA as an observer from 2009 to 2016, but has been blocked from participating since 2017 after President Tsai Ing-wen took office, which led to a freeze in cross-strait relations.

Wu noted that there may be "some difficulties" for Taiwan in attending this year's WHA, as China considers Taiwan as part of its territory and has intensified diplomatic and military pressure on the island in recent years. Beijing rejects Taiwan's claims that only the island's 23 million residents can decide their future, and asserts that China has no right to speak for or represent Taiwan on the international stage.

The United States has strongly encouraged the World Health Organization (WHO) to extend an invitation to Taiwan to re-enter the WHA as an observer. The U.S. argues that Taiwan's exclusion undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security. "China's logic for excluding Taiwan from the UN system is flawed," the U.S. has stated, emphasizing that Taiwan's meaningful participation in the UN and other multilateral forums should not be precluded.

Taiwan's exclusion from the WHA since 2017 has hindered its efforts to fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The U.S. has reiterated its commitment to advocate for maintaining and increasing Taiwan's international space, engaging diplomatically to garner support for Taiwan's WHA participation. "The U.S. will speak out in support of Taiwan's participation as an observer at the WHA, and expects more countries to support this effort," according to U.S. officials.

Why this matters: Taiwan's difficulty in attending the World Health Assembly highlights the ongoing tensions and diplomatic challenges it faces due to China's opposition and claims over the island. The exclusion of Taiwan from key international forums like the WHA has significant implications for global health cooperation and Taiwan's ability to effectively respond to public health crises.

Despite the challenges, Foreign Minister Wu emphasized that Taiwan will continue to work towards gaining more international support for its participation in the WHA. The U.S. backing of Taiwan's observer status at the assembly underscores the geopolitical dimensions of this issue and the efforts to ensure Taiwan's inclusion in global health discussions. As the 2023 WHA approaches, the international community will be closely watching to see if Taiwan will be able to secure an invitation and navigate the complexities of participating amid Chinese opposition.

Key Takeaways

• Taiwan faces challenges attending 2024 WHA due to China's opposition and claims over the island.
• Taiwan attended WHA as observer from 2009-2016 but has been blocked since 2017 after Tsai Ing-wen took office.
• U.S. strongly encourages WHO to invite Taiwan as observer, arguing its exclusion undermines global health cooperation.
• Taiwan's exclusion from WHA since 2017 has hindered its efforts to fight COVID-19 pandemic.
• U.S. reiterates support for Taiwan's WHA participation, expects more countries to back this effort.