Washington Examiner
Date: January 24, 2020
By: Joel Gehrke

Taiwan’s access to World Health Organization information about the coronavirus is being delayed amid political disputes with the Chinese communist government, as the outbreak spreads.

Taiwan has not been invited to observe World Health Organization meetings since 2017, when China blocked it from membership. The government in Taipei is pressing for global recognition, as three coronavirus cases have been confirmed in Taiwan.

“If Taiwan is excluded and unable to conduct real-time cooperation and exchanges on the platform, it weakens the overall protection effort, leaving a huge loophole in global epidemic prevention,” an official at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office, Taiwan’s de facto embassy, told the Washington Examiner.

“As soon as the borderless viruses break through from the protection net, it not only poses a huge threat to the health of more than 23 million residents in Taiwan, but also a serious problem and challenge to global security,” the TECRO official said.    [FULL  STORY]