It has become an annual event at this time of the year for the World Health Organisation to reject an application from Taiwan to become a member. Yesterday was no exception:

Despite some declarations of support for Taipei, the WHO’s 192 member states accepted without a vote a call by China to take no action on the Taiwanese request for observer status, for the ninth consecutive year.

China says only sovereign states are entitled to take part in the assembly, which is meeting until May 25. Taiwan first sought observer status at the WHO in 1997.

If Taiwan couldn’t get accepted right after the SARS debacle, there was little chance this year. Oh well, I look forward to next years attempt.

There was an interesting sidenote to this years attempt though. It seems that China signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the WHO about Taiwan:

Taiwan’s health minister on Monday rejected a pact between China and the World Health Organisation to help the island in any health emergency, because Taipei had not been consulted.

The accord, a memorandum of understanding, was announced at the WHO’s annual assembly by China’s Health Minister Gao Qiang during a brief debate on Taiwan’s bid — again unsuccessful — for observer status.

This agreement comes just one week after the CCP promised both Taiwanese opposition parties that they would help Taiwan join the WHO. That both the KMT and PFP didn’t even know about this memorandum (let alone the Taiwanese government) speaks volumes about the real level of cooperation between the CCP and the Taiwanese parties.