Taiwan Claims China Prevented It From Attending WHO COVID-19 Meeting

[/news/taiwan/index.html Taiwan] has claimed that Chinese 'obstruction' had prevented it from attending a key [/news/world-health-organization/index.html World Health Organization] meeting focused on the [/news/coronavirus/index.html coronavirus].  
The self-ruled island of 23million has seen remarkable success in combatting the pandemic — with only seven deaths and fewer than 600 confirmed cases — as many parts of the world report surging numbers of infections and trương gia giới deaths.
But it is frozen out of the WHO by Beijing, which regards Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to take it by force if necessary.
Taiwan has claimed that Chinese 'obstruction' had prevented it from attending a key World Health Organization meeting focused on the coronavirus.

In this file photo taken on June 11, 2009, the logo of the World Health Organization is seen at the WHO headquarters in Geneva
China and Taiwan have a long-standing dispute over the island's political status.

China views the island as one of its provinces while Taiwan considers itself to be an independent country. The portraits of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (pictured left) and Chinese President Xi Jinping are displayed side by side during the Secret South exhibition in Taipei on October 22
RELATED ARTICLES [# Previous] [# 1] [# Next] [/news/article-8925903/Netanyahu-congratulates-Biden-great-friend-Israel.html World leaders who are NOT rushing to congratulate Biden:...] [/news/article-8928575/More-50-million-Covid-19-infections-recorded-worldwide-1-25million-deaths.html More than 50 million Covid-19 infections have been recorded...] [/news/article-8923055/Peers-told-reveal-pay-Russia-China-long-awaited-crackdown.html Peers will be told to reveal pay from Russia or China in...] [/news/article-8923787/WHO-says-mutant-mink-coronavirus-outbreak-Denmark-concern.html Coronavirus is found in minks in America, Spain and Italy:...]



Share this article
Share


China and Taiwan have a long-standing dispute over the island's political status. China views the island as one of its provinces while Taiwan considers itself to be an independent country. 
Tensions between Beijing and Taipei have soared to a new high in recent months, with China mounting diplomatic and military pressure on the independent island.
WHO has yet to officially recognise Taiwan as a member state and the island has been denied permission to attend emergency meetings and briefings since 2016.
The health organisation has been slammed by the media and Western critics for its political bias towards China during the coronavirus pandemic, which has infected over 50million people worldwide. 
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, has also repeatedly praised China for its response to the outbreak, despite Hubei, phượng hoàng cổ trấn where the virus was first discovered, initially tried to cover up the crisis.  
The WHO director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (pictured in file photo), has praised China for its response to the coronavirus outbreak despite it initially tried to cover up the crisis
The self-ruled island of 23 million has seen remarkable success in combatting the pandemic — with only seven deaths and fewer than 600 confirmed cases.

In this photo taken on October 29, people are pictured wearing face masks as they walk through a shopping district in Taiwan
The WHO's decision not to invite Taiwan to its annual assembly — due to resume virtually on Monday after being cut short by the pandemic in May — was a result of 'political considerations', Taipei's foreign ministry said Monday. 
'The ministry expresses deep regrets and strong dissatisfaction over China's obstruction of Taiwan's participation,' it said in a statement.
'As the world is still under serious threat of the Covid-19 pandemic...

it is an irony to the 'health for all' goal under the WHO charter' to exclude Taiwan, it added.
Taiwan attended the annual assembly between 2009 and 2016 as an observer, under the name Chinese Taipei.
But Beijing has blocked its participation since the 2016 election of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to acknowledge the island is part of 'One China'.
Beijing has blocked Taiwan's participation at the WHO since the 2016 election of Taiwan's President Tsai Ing-wen, who has refused to acknowledge the island is part of 'One China'.

The Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen is seen at the National Day in Taipei on October 10
The health organisation has been slammed by the media and Western critics for its political bias towards China during the coronavirus pandemic.

In this file photo, Chinese President Xi Jinping is seen at the 19th Communist Party Congress in Beijing on October 24, 2017
A growing number of countries have called for kynghidongduong.vn Taiwan to regain its observer status at this year's assembly, amid fears its exclusion could jeopardise efforts to curb the pandemic.
'Their voices should not be ignored,' Tsai tweeted on Monday just before the assembly was due to begin at 0900 GMT.

'#TaiwanIsHelping the world fight the pandemic & #TaiwanCanHelp the WHO achieve #HealthForAll.'
The World Medical Association, a confederation of national medical associations that jointly represent more than 10 million physicians, said also last week 'it is both cynical and counterproductive' to exclude Taiwan.
'The Covid-19 pandemic is proof that cooperation for and with all health care systems in the world is necessary,' chairman Frank Montgomery said in an open letter to WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
Tedros has said Taiwan's participation can only be decided by member states with the consent of 'the relevant government' — a reference to Beijing. 
The health organisation has been criticised by the media for its political bias towards China during the coronavirus pandemic. 
In March,  [/news/article-8172031/WHO-official-allegedly-refuses-address-Taiwan-appears-hang-journalist.html a WHO top official appeared to hang up on a Hong Kong journalist during a video interview] when confronted with questions about [/news/taiwan/index.html Taiwan]. 
Dr Bruce Aylward, assistant director-general of the WHO, avoided commenting further, claiming they had 'already talked about China' after being asked about Taiwan's handling of the [/news/coronavirus/index.html coronavirus] outbreak.
WHO later said the question of Taiwan's membership is 'up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff' while responding to interview.