TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Following the United States and Japan, Australia and Germany were the latest countries to voice support for Taiwan’s attempts at attending the World Health Assembly (WHA), reports said Thursday (May 9).
The organizer of the May 20-28 event in Geneva, the World Health Organization (WHO), failed for the third year running to invite Taiwan, due to pressure from China. Despite the latest example of Chinese bullying, a government-led delegation will still travel to Switzerland to meet with WHA participants.
Acting separately, Australia and Germany on Thursday said through their representative offices in Taiwan that the country should have the right to attend the global health meet.
“Germany strongly opposes the politicization of global health issues,” the German office said, according to the Central News Agency. A statement described Taiwan as a major airline hub, making it necessary for the country to play an important role in preventing the spread of contagious diseases.
Taiwan’s absence from the international health community would pose a clear danger to global health, the German office said.
On Facebook, the Australian office praised Taiwan for its high-quality healthcare service and said the people of the island should be included in the global health community.
On Wednesday (March 8), Japan’s Foreign Minister, Taro Kono, for the first time openly supported Taiwan’s bid in a tweet.
