TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, Eliot Engel (D-NY), on Saturday (April 11) voiced his support for President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) after she rebuffed accusations by the World Health Organization (WHO) head Tedros Adhanom that Taiwan is responsible for launching a racist campaign against individuals of African descent.
In a retweet of Tsai's protest against the director-general's racism charge, Engel applauded the Taiwanese government's handling of the situation and condemned Tedros for his "baseless claims." He urged the WHO official to put aside his political agenda and learn from Taiwan's success in containing the spread of Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19).
Engel stressed that Tedros should "check out Taiwan's record" of coronavirus prevention, which he said would advance the WHO's international efforts.
Chairman @RepEliotEngel: I applaud @iingwen’s response to baseless claims that Taiwan is fueling racist attacks against @DrTedros. I encourage him to check out #Taiwan’s record—despite its exclusion—so we can collectively advance @WHO’s critical global health work. https://t.co/uxVakZBpf4
— House Foreign Affairs Committee (@HouseForeign) April 11, 2020
Meanwhile, the former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, Nikki Haley, also took to Twitter to weigh in on the Taiwan-WHO dispute Sunday morning (April 12), demanding that the international health body explain "why Taiwan was ignored and China was listened to," reported New Talk.
We deserve to know why Taiwan was ignored and China was listened to. We need answers. pic.twitter.com/kRl0AFs3oB
— Nikki Haley (@NikkiHaley) April 11, 2020
Since Tedros on Wednesday (April 8) accused the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry of organizing a series of racial attacks and death threats against him, many Taiwanese, as well as international leaders, have heavily criticized the global health official for smearing the country's reputation. President Tsai even encouraged Tedros to visit the island nation to see that "the Taiwanese people are the true victims of unfair treatment," reported ETtoday.