Chinese Mission Spokesperson Liu Yuyin Refutes the Distorted Remarks By the US on Taiwan Question
2020-05-16 01:37
 

Recently, the Permanent Mission of the United States in Geneva tweeted for the so-called "Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly". On this question, I would like to solemnly reiterate the following:

The  participation of the Taiwan region, which is part of China, in the World Health Assembly must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. This is also a fundamental principle enshrined in UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1. Since the DPP came to power in 2016, it has obstinately adhered to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence" and refused to recognize that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. As a result, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in WHA has ceased to exist. The DPP authorities are the only party to blame for the region being unable to take part in the WHA. The DPP understands that only too well. Since COVID-19 broke out, Taiwan's DPP authorities have been busy making political manipulation and hyping up so-called "Taiwan's participation in the WHA" on international occasions. Their true intention is to seek independence under the pretext of the pandemic with the help of some Western countries. We firmly oppose their futile attempts.

The Chinese Central Government always attaches great importance to the health and well-being of our compatriots in the Taiwan region. In January, the Central Government hosted Taiwan experts traveling to Wuhan to observe epidemic containment efforts on the ground. As of May 15, the Central Government has sent 152 notifications on COVID-19 to the Taiwan region. Since 2019, under the one-China principle, altogether 24 Taiwan experts in 16 groups have participated in WHO technical activities. The claim of a "gap" in global anti-epidemic efforts is simply not true, as Taiwan has unimpeded access to epidemic information.

According to the consensus reached by the WHO Executive Board, this year's agenda will cover only essential items like the COVID-19 pandemic and Executive Board election. This reflects the shared wish of member states to focus on international cooperation on COVID-19 at this WHA. The WHA has for many consecutive years rejected a handful of countries' proposals relating to the Taiwan region, demonstrating the shared international commitment to the one-China principle, an overriding trend that cannot be challenged. The only aim of a certain country insisting on discussing the proposal relating to the Taiwan region is to politicize the health issue to seek selfish political gains even at the expense of hijacking the WHA and undermining global anti-pandemic cooperation. This attempt will inevitably disrupt the WHA proceedings and international cooperation, which will be firmly rejected by the vast majority of the international community.