Taiwan aims to join WHO as 'health entity'

Asian Economic News, May 13, 2002

TAIPEI, May 6 Kyodo

Taiwan aims to win observer status within the World Health Organization (WHO) as a ''health entity'' rather than as a nation in a bid to circumvent a long-standing sovereignty dispute with China, Taiwan Foreign Minister Eugene Chien said Monday.

Addressing a news conference, Chien also pointed out that Taiwan is not seeking full WHO membership in order to demonstrate Taipei's goodwill toward Beijing by avoiding the sovereignty issue and ''one-China'' controversy.

Taiwan has tried for the past five years to win observer status within the world health body. But this year will be the first time that Taipei tries to join the WHO as a ''health entity'' rather than as the Republic of China, Taiwan's official name.

''We want to avoid the sovereignty issue...we want to be as flexible as possible,'' said Deputy Foreign Minister Michael Kao.

He said Taiwan's WHO bid was hampered in the past since many countries, which in principle understand the island's aspirations to be included in the world health body, were not able to lend their support since they follow a one-China policy.

At the same time, China put pressure on other WHO members not to allow Taiwan in for fear that WHO membership would boost the island's diplomatic profile.

Kao argued that by focusing on the functional aspects of the WHO as a body devoted to improving medical care and other health issues, such political concerns could be dispelled.

''We hope that Beijing will also be able to develop a flexible and pragmatic approach toward this issue,'' Kao said in appealing to China to no longer block Taiwan's WHO bid.

Kao said that once Taiwan gains WHO observer status, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait could cooperate on many international health issues.

Health Department head Lee Ming-liang argued that it was an outdated concept to base health care on national sovereignty, particularly in view of global pandemics such as HIV/AIDS.

In a background paper, the Foreign Ministry pointed to Taiwan's membership alongside China in other international organization under various monikers.

Taiwan has joined the World Trade Organization as a ''customs territory,'' a ''fishing entity'' within the Convention on the Conservation and Management of Highly Migratory Fish Stocks in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean, an ''economy'' in the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and a ''sports organization'' in the International Olympic Committee.

WHO currently has six observers, which include quasi-states such as the Palestine Liberation Organization and non-state entities such as the International Committee of the Red Cross.

Asked how he views Taiwan's prospects to gain WHO observer status in time for the annual meeting in Geneva later this month, Chien avoided a clear-cut answer. ''We are still making utmost efforts,'' he said.

But pointing to support for Taiwan's observer bid recently voiced by the U.S. Congress and the European Parliament, Chien said that ''the big picture has already improved a lot.''