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Statements and Resolutions

The Participation of the Republic of China (Taiwan) as an Observer in the World Health Organization
March 2001

-- We are seeking your support for a proposal to this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) to invite the Republic of China (Taiwan) to participate in the WHA as an observer.

-- As a founding member of the WHO, the ROC (Taiwan) had participated for 24 years as a full member in WHO's programs and activities, and made great contributions to the fulfillment of the organization's objectives. In 1972, in the wake of the admission of the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the UN, the ROC on Taiwan was forced to depart from the WHO.

-- Since 1972, Taiwan's health officials and medical professionals have been unable to take part in any WHO forums and workshops on the latest technologies in the diagnosis, monitoring, and control of diseases. Taiwan's health authorities have also been denied the right to maintain contact and coordination with the WHO, even in emergencies involving the containment and cure of existing or newly emerging infectious diseases.

-- Taiwan is one of the largest traders in the world. Enormous quantities of goods are dispatched in and out of the island on a daily basis. Located at the juncture of important maritime routes between Northeast and Southeast Asia, Taiwan is also a main source of tourists, with 7.32 million outbound travelers and 2.62 million inbound visitors last year. Up to the end of last December, 326,515 migrant workers from Thailand, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Vietnam were in Taiwan. Taiwan's absence from the WHO system has become a missing link in the global framework of health and medical care.

-- The international community has already supported Taiwan's participation in the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), and has agreed in principle to Taiwan's admission into the WTO. On its part, the WHO has been able to accommodate different political realities by granting observer status to the Holy See, Palestine, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

-- Both UN resolution 2758 and WHA resolution 25.1 were products of the 1970s, which dealt with the question of China's representation in the UN system. Granting observer status to Taiwan in the WHO is not an issue of China's representation and will not challenge the present status of the PRC in international organizations. It would demonstrate that the WHO is willing to listen to the voice of 23 million people on Taiwan.

-- With Taiwan's successful experience in eradicating many infectious diseases and its financial and human resources, both the government and people are actively engaged in various activities in the fields of foreign medical assistance and humanitarian relief. Taiwan is willing and able to contribute to the WHO.

-- Taiwan is entitled to full membership of the WHO. However, it has chosen to seek observer status. Gaps in political, social and economic systems between Taiwan and the PRC remain wide. To grant Taiwan observer status is a modus vivendi that can allow the WHO to include Taiwan in the global health system while not jeopardizing the peace process between Taiwan and the PRC.

-- The government on Taiwan is the highest and sole legitimate authority over all health matters in Taiwan. As a democratically elected government, it has a duty and responsibility to insure that the people of Taiwan are represented in an international body which establishes and oversees international framework for the control of disease and the promotion of health for all.

-- We appreciate your support for the proposal at this year's WHA to grant observer status to Taiwan.