You must need to have huge reserves of optimism to be a Taiwanese international diplomat. Again and again you find people siding with China against you, but you still keep thinking that things will get better:
Several high-ranking government officials expressed confidence yesterday in Taiwan’s bid to gain entry to the World Heath Organization this year and lambasted China’s continual efforts to foil Taiwan’s attempts to join the world health body.
Speaking at the “2006 Taiwan’s Quest for Participation in the World Health Organization” press conference held at the Government Information Office yesterday, Department of Health Minister Hou Sheng-mou (侯茂) said that due to the imminent global threat of avian flu, based on ethical and humanitarian considerations, many medical professional groups around the world have voiced their support for Taiwan to become part of the WHO.
Here’s a quick recap: Taiwan has tried every year for the last 9 years to become an observer at the World Health Assembly. Each time it’s been blocked by China.
- Two years ago, with SARS having proved how important international cooperation is for health matters, China blocked Taiwan’s application.
- One year ago, with Avian Flu starting to raise it’s ugly head, and just after China promised to help Taiwan’s participation in the WHO (at the Hu-Lien meeting), China blocked Taiwan’s application.
Note that, despite the fact that the application is for a ‘health entity’ not a country, Taiwan’s application hasn’t even got as far as a vote yet. And still they’re confident this year …
Of course, it goes without saying that Taiwan should be represented – but then when did common sense (or international health considerations) ever play a part in these sorts of decisions?
Update: On the issue of Taiwan’s international presence, Mad Minerva notes that the recent ‘Failed States Index‘ published by Foreign Policy magazine has come up with a novel way to handle Taiwan’s tricky situation: remove the island from the map completely! At least you can’t be classified as a failed state when you’ve sunk beneath the waves …
Isn’t repeating the same action over and over again while expecting different results one of the clinical symptoms of insanity?
i guess it is because WHO is a UN body, and taiwan needs to get the ticket into UN first?
otherwise, pragmatically, i wonder why the ‘olympic’ solution (chinese taipei) wouldn’t work?
The purpose of making a run each year, even if in reality you don’t expect to be successful, is to at least generate some positive publicity. How much does positive publicity buy? I dunno, but, if it ever comes down to war, you’d hope you’ve done all you can to prevent it and bring people in support of you. On the flip side, at some point, China is going to have to consider how much Taiwan costs them in negative publicity every year.
Sun Bin – you don’t need to be in the UN to become an observer at the WHA (which is all Taiwan’s trying for this year) … but obviously one major nation is worried that it might be a step towards entering the UN. There are actually plenty of options for what China could allow without impinging on their One China principle – but why bother when you can block the whole thing completely?
James, of course you’re right. I’d be disappointed if Taiwan didn’t push attendence each year – if only to remind everyone that they’re not included. It’s just the official level of optimism strikes me as silly!
talking about publicity and taiwan in the WHO, i’ve just read the economist’s last issue, where you can find at page 37 a full page advertising to “support taiwan’s entry into the WHO” “WHO needs help..take taiwan’s hand-give Taiwan a role”. i could be wrong, but it’s the first time i see this ad on the economist..i think Hou Sheng-mou is right, and the government is trying to “catch the moment” in any way they can..maybe taiwan won’t be able to “help the WHO”, but surely it will win some hearts in the world’s public opinion.