Chargé d'affaires, a.i. of the Chinese Embassy in Canada Zhao Yong publishes a signed article on Ottawa Life Magazine

驻加拿大大使馆
2022-05-21 19:04

On May 20, Ottawa Life Magazine published a signed article by Chargé d'affaires, a.i. of the Chinese Embassy in Canada Zhao Yong titled "The World Health Assembly is No Place for Petty Politics". Here is the full text:

The COVID-19 epidemic continues to rage around the world, and Omicron is constantly mutating. At the same time, geopolitical conflicts, climate change and other factors are at play, posing severe challenges to human well-being. As all of this unfolds, the 75th World Health Assembly, set to take place in Geneva from May 22 to 28, will focus on the world's public health priorities. The topics to be discussed will relate to the health and well-being of seven billion people around the world, and will attract global attention.

Unsurprisingly, on the eve of this conference, the Taiwan authorities once again decided to place politics over human well-being, claiming that China is suppressing them and that the WHO is excluding them, which is harmful to global health and security. Despite this, anyone with common sense can see that such political displays are untenable. 

The WHO is a specialized agency of the United Nations and an intergovernmental organization. As a result, Taiwan's participation in the WHA must be handled in accordance with the one-China principle. This is the basic principle enshrined in UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1. Indeed, Taiwan had been invited to participate in the WHA, in the name of Chinese Taipei, as an observer for eight consecutive years from 2009 to 2016. This is because at that time both sides of the strait adhered to the "1992 Consensus" which embodies the one-China principle. This is a special arrangement made under the premise of adhering to the one-China principle and against the background of the peaceful development of cross-strait relations at that time. 

Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2016, it has denied the "1992 Consensus", adhered to the "Taiwan independence" approach, and did not agree that both sides of the strait belong to a single unified China. They not only unilaterally abandoned the political basis for Taiwan's participation in the WHA, but also used participation as a tool to highlight its "sovereign status", turning a health-focused organization into their own political mouthpiece. 

In order to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, and to safeguard the seriousness and authority of the relevant resolutions of the UNGA and the WHA, China cannot agree to Taiwan's participation in this year's World Health Assembly. China's position has won the firm support of the vast majority of countries around the world. In the absence of consensus among member states, the WHO Director-General has no authority to invite Taiwan to participate in the meeting. The Taiwan authorities claimed that they were "isolated" in the matter of participating in the conference. The real reason for their exclusion is that they cut off the road to participate in the WHA that already existed, and they knew this well. If there is no consensus between the two sides on the one-China principle, all politically-motivated attempts of the Taiwan authorities to participate in the WHA will end in failure, and this year will be no exception.

If the Taiwan region cannot participate in the WHA, will the health and well-being of the Taiwanese people be harmed? Will global health and security be affected? In fact, under the premise of the one-China principle, the Chinese central government has made proper arrangements for Taiwan's participation in global health affairs. There is no obstacle impeding Taiwan's participation in WHO technical activities and access to information. Experts from Taiwan can participate in WHO technical meetings, and WHO experts can visit Taiwan or provide assistance when needed. 

Till 28 April 2022, the Chinese central government has provided updates to Taiwan about the COVID-19 pandemic more than 386 times, and in the past year approved a total of 47 Taiwanese health experts to participate in WHO technical activities. The Taiwan region has established centers of focus for implementing the International Health Regulations, and the information exchange with the WHO and other countries is smooth and well-established. The so-called exclusion of Taiwan from global health cooperation and the claim that Taiwan being unable to attend the WHA as an observer will lead to "a gap in the international epidemic prevention system" are politically-motivated lies.

The DPP authorities are trying their best to squeeze into the WHA. The fundamental purpose is to use the WHA to challenge the one-China principle and create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" in the international community. This not only goes against the trend of history, but also seriously interferes with international anti-epidemic cooperation and harms the interests of the member states of WHO. On the issue of participating in the WHA, the Taiwan authorities have repeatedly claimed that Taiwan is a "sovereign state". The Taiwanese agency in Canada recently published an article, openly claiming that Taiwan is a sovereign country. These all show once again that the real purpose of the Taiwan authorities' participation in the WHA is to seek independence rather than fight against COVID-19.

Taiwan is part of China, a fact recognized by more than 180 countries around the world, including Canada. The one-China principle has become a global consensus. The DPP authorities are using the epidemic and WHA to engage in political manipulation, which will only invite humiliation once again. Let us wait and see.