• Health minister Chen Shih-chung says excluding island from World Health Assembly could undermine attempts to control infectious diseases
• Exclusion from summit follows pressure from mainland China, which regards Taiwan as a renegade province

South China Morning Post
Date: 19 May, 2019 

Soldiers hoist Taiwan’s flag in Taipei. Beijing regards the island as a renegade province that must eventually be reunited with the mainland. Photo: EPA-EFE

Taiwan’s health minister called on Sunday for the island to be allowed to attend an annual World Health Organisation summit, saying it was vital to have proper disease prevention measures in place before next year’s Olympic Games in Japan.
In an interview with Kyodo News in Geneva, health minister Chen Shih-chung voiced disappointment at Taiwan being shut out yet again from the annual meeting of the World Health Assembly, the WHO’s decision-making body, due to pressure from mainland China.

Chen and his delegation flew to Geneva for a series of meetings on the sidelines of the annual event, which opens on Monday.

As Taiwan is a transport hub for East and Southeast Asia, excluding it from the WHO’s health and safety system could create a loophole for infectious disease control, he warned.    [FULL  STORY]