The Epoch Times
Date: May 17, 2020
By: Michelle Yang
A TV grab taken from a video released by the World Health Organization (WHO) shows WHO Chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus attending a virtual news briefing on COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) from the WHO headquarters in Geneva on April 6, 2020. – The WHO said on April 6, 2020 that facemasks could be justified in areas where hand-washing and physical distancing were difficult, as it teamed up with Lady Gaga to launch a giant coronavirus awareness concert. (Photo by – / AFP) (Photo by -/AFP via Getty Images)
According to a Johns Hopkins University study in January, Taiwan was expected to be the second most at-risk area outside mainland China for the virus. However, it turned out that Taiwan had one of the most effective responses globally.
Taiwan, which is not a member of the United Nations, has been excluded from the World Health Organization (WHO), a U.N. agency, due to objections from China. The island has not been allowed to take part in the WHA, the decision-making body of WHO, since 2016.
The leaders of U.S. congressional foreign affairs committees wrote a letter to 55 countries on May 8 to support Taiwan’s WHA bid. The lawmakers stated in their letter that as the world fights the pandemic, it is more important than ever to put global health above politics. [FULL STORY]
