Taiwan’s exclusion from the 70th WHA has been covered by a variety of international media outlets, with reports in the BBC and Time magazine drawing attention to Taiwan’s unjust treatment on the international stage.
In a broadcast on the BBC’s From Our Own Correspondent programme (aired on Radio 4 and BBC World Service), Micky Bristow, the Asia-Pacific Editor for the BBC World Service, explained why Taiwan was excluded from the WHA. He pointed out that ‘China is behind the cold shouldering of Taiwan… and doesn’t want it to get any international recognition, no matter how small.’
Mr Bristow explained Beijing dislikes the politics of President Tsai Ing-wen and has reverted to its pre-2008 policy of excluding Taiwan from global gatherings. He quoted the deputy minister of Taiwan’s Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), Lin Cheng-yi, saying that despite Taiwan’s efforts, there had been no communication between Taiwan and mainland China since President Tsai came to office.
The report also pointed out that Beijing’s attempt to isolate Taiwan had led to a number of disagreements between the two sides, including mainland China’s disruption of Taiwan’s participation in a meeting on conflict diamonds in Australia this month and an International Civil Aviation Organisation meeting in Canada late last year.
The report gave credit to arguments made by the Taiwanese government that Taiwan’s exclusion from events discussing issues such as disease prevention or aviation standards could put its people at risk, calling them ‘persuasive.’
On 5 May, Time magazine also covered the issue and pointed out that it was part of a growing pattern of attempts by Beijing to squeeze Taipei out of the international arena. It said that the consequences of Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHA could be deadly, citing warnings that it could create a dangerous public health risk for East-Asia and beyond.
The article reported the WHO had been silent on whether Taiwan will retain its observer status in the WHA and said that inquiries from Time to the body’s Geneva secretariat have gone unanswered. Also featured were warnings from Lo Chih-Chen, a legislator with the Democratic Progressive Party who called Taiwan’s exclusion ‘health apartheid.’ Mr Lo said, ‘Taiwan is the only country to have been left out from this international health community… the reason for the exclusion is purely a political objection on the part of Beijing
