In February, President Tsai Ing-wen repeatedly called for the World Health Organization (WHO) to allow for Taiwan’s participation. In a tweet on 7 February, the president pointed out that at this critical juncture, Taiwan’s continued absence from the global health body has caused countless errors in the handling of the 2019 novel coronavirus outbreak. “I believe that health is a human right, and #TaiwanCanHelp the WHO in preventing the spread of #COVID19,” she tweeted on 15 February. The president also stressed that politics should never override professionalism, particularly in international organizations dedicated to people’s health and well-being in another tweet on 20 February: “#Taiwan is willing and able to contribute to the international community in epidemic prevention & regional prosperity.”
In addition to the president’s statements, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) also urged for Taiwan’s participation in the WHO and its technical meetings, including the annual World Health Assembly (WHA). In a tweet on 3 February, Taiwan Foreign Minister Joseph Wu called on the WHO Director-General Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus to recognise that Taiwan is not a part of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), its health care system is administered by separate and independent authorities, and to stop damaging efforts to tackle the coronavirus outbreak and harming global health. On 9 February, MOFA expressed sincere appreciation for the unprecedented level of support extended to Taiwan’s campaign for participation in the WHO by diplomatic allies and like-minded nations at the 146th session of the WHO Executive Board (EB) meeting about the 2019 novel coronavirus, which took place from 3-8 February in Geneva. Countries backing Taiwan’s participation in the EB meeting included Eswatini, Paraguay, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Nauru, Saint Christopher and Nevis, and the Marshall Islands. In addition to these allies, the UK, US, Japan, Germany (representing the 27 member states of the European Union), Australia, New Zealand and Belgium all spoke up in favour of Taiwan at the EB meeting, or echoed the country’s appeal for participation by stressing the importance of inclusiveness and ensuring that no gaps exist in the global disease prevention network.
