TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) opened Monday with a diplomatic clash over Taiwan’s exclusion.
The session in Geneva began with a rare "two-on-two" exchange between Taiwan’s supporters and opponents over a proposal to invite Taiwan as an observer, per CNA. Belize and St. Vincent countered arguments from China and Pakistan, asserting that UN Resolution 2758 does not apply to Taiwan’s status in global health forums.
China’s UN envoy Chen Xu (陳旭) reiterated Beijing’s claim to represent Taiwan, calling the proposal a violation of Chinese sovereignty. Pakistan’s deputy representative Zaman Mehdi echoed that position, claiming Taiwan already has access to technical meetings and reaffirming the so-called “One China” principle.
Belize Health Minister Kevin Bernard countered that over 23 million Taiwanese are unfairly excluded, and that neither Resolution 2758 nor WHA Resolution 25.1 authorizes China to speak for Taiwan. He asserted that China has never governed Taiwan and called the exclusion unjust and dangerous to global health.
Bernard also criticized the WHO’s reliance on a secret 2005 memorandum with China, which limits Taiwan’s access to technical meetings and requires its experts to be listed as individuals from “Taiwan, China.” He noted that Taiwan had applied to 237 WHO meetings between 2009 and 2022, but was admitted to only 88—proof, he said, of political interference.
St. Vincent Health Minister St. Clair Prince added that Resolution 2758 makes no reference to Taiwan and cannot be used to justify exclusion. He reminded the assembly that Taiwan participated as an observer from 2009 to 2016 until “political, not health” reasons ended the arrangement.
The WHA chair ultimately upheld the Secretariat’s recommendation to reject the proposal, leaving Taiwan off the agenda once again. Meanwhile, Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) is expected to issue a formal protest to the WHO, continuing Taiwan’s tradition of annual appeals.