GENEVA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The 60th World Health
Assembly (WHA) announced Monday that a proposal on making Taiwan a "member
state" of the World Health Organization (WHO) will not be included in the
conference's provisional agenda.
The announcement was made by Jane Halton, president
of the Assembly and secretary of the Department of Health and Aging of
Australia, following a recommendation from the 25-member General Committee and
then a roll call vote by member states at the plenary session.
The result of the vote showed that an overwhelming
majority of WHO member states are opposed to including the Taiwan-related
proposal in the agenda.
This is the 11th time in as many years that a
Taiwan-related proposal was rejected in the assembly.
In the following interventions, many states also
stressed that they support the one-China policy, and Taiwan, as a province of
China, is not eligible for WHO membership.
The WHA is the supreme decision-making body of the
WHO. It meets in Geneva in May each year, attended by delegations from all193
member states.
The proposal, put forward by a small number of
countries, ignored related UN resolutions and claimed that Taiwan should be a
"member state" of the WHO.
The Taiwan authorities have attempted in vain to
become an observer of the WHA, but this year it tried to become a "full member
state" of the WHO.
Addressing Monday's conference, Chinese Minister of
Health Gao Qiang reiterated that Taiwan is a province of China and it is not
eligible for WHO membership, which is only open to sovereign states.
"Taiwan is an inalienable part of China. Although the
reunification of the mainland and Taiwan has yet to be achieved due to
historical reasons, the fact that the mainland and Taiwan both belong to one
China will never change," Gao said.
Gao noted that the focus of attention of the "Taiwan
membership" proposal is not the well-being of the Taiwan people, but to seek
"Taiwan Independence" in the international arena, and serves the election
campaign of certain political figures on the island.
"This proposal disregards the UN Charter and the WHO
Constitution, violates the resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the WHA,
challenges the internationally-acknowledged One China Principle, sabotages the
consensus of the WHA of the past 10 consecutive years, and seriously hurts the
feelings of the member states," Gao said.
GENEVA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government
said Monday that the International Health Regulations (2005) apply to the entire
territory of China, including Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.
"The International Health Regulations (2005) apply to
the entire territory of the People's Republic of China, including the Hong Kong
Special Administrative Region, the Macao Special Administrative Region and the
Taiwan Province," it said in a statement submitted to the World Health
Organization (WHO) by China 's permanent mission to the UN Office in Geneva. Full story
GENEVA, May 14 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese government has
always attached great importance to the health of Taiwan compatriots and will do
whatever is beneficial to safeguard their interests, Chinese Health Minister Gao
Qiang said here Monday.
"We will do our utmost to safeguard the health rights
and interests of the Taiwan people. This is not only what we have promised, but
also what we have done," Gao told the 60th World Health Assembly (WHA). Full story
Print
