PROTEST:The government is considering holding an international news conference in Geneva as a sign of protest if it is not invited to the meeting, the health minister said
Taipei Times
Date: May 04, 2017
By: Staff writer, with CNA
Taiwan is to send a delegation to Geneva, Switzerland, for the annual World Health
Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung answers questions at a meeting of the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee in Taipei yesterday. Photo: Fang Pin-chao, Taipei Times
Assembly (WHA) this month, even if it is not invited, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday.
Chen told the legislature’s Social Welfare and Environmental Hygiene Committee that the government is preparing to go to Geneva and make its presence felt while the WHA is in session, even without an invitation.
The WHA, the decisionmaking body of the WHO, is scheduled to meet from May 22 to May 31.
Taiwan wants to attend the meeting as an observer, as has been the case for the past eight years. The deadline for online registration for this year’s WHA session is Monday, and Taiwan is still hoping for an invitation.
Many believe an invitation will not be forthcoming because of Beijing’s ongoing campaign to suppress Taiwan’s participation in international organizations.
That campaign has intensified since President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) took office in May last year. [FULL STORY]
