WHO: Taiwan is still waiting at the door

By Freesun News - 17 May, 2011, 4:16 pm

DOH Minister Chiu Wen-ta displays Taiwan’s protest letter before presenting it to WHO Legal Counsel Gian Luca Burci (right) May 16 in Geneva. (Courtesy of DOH)

Health minister’s protest letter to WHO
President asks European Parliament to help with WHO
2009 watershed year for Taiwan’s participation in WHA: official
Calling Taiwan a ‘province of China’ totally unacceptable: MOFA
Taiwan’s health minister lodges WHO protest

05/17/11 13:37:25

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) Taiwan’s Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta lodged a strongly-worded letter of protest on May 16 to the World Health Organization (WHO) in regard to a leaked WHO memo dated last September that asked its recipients to refer to Taiwan as a province
of China.

The letter dated May 14 was made public by the Department of Health in Taipei on Tuesday.

In his written protest to WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, Chiu stated that the error is “absolutely unacceptable” and requested the international body “immediately look into this grave matter and redress such a mistake.”

The minister handed the letter to WHO’s legal counsel Gian Luca Burci in the presence of six representatives of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies at the 64th World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva.

The full context of the letter is as follows:

Dear Dr. Chan,

It is with the utmost dissatisfaction that I am writing to file a formal protest over the improper procedures and erroneous terminology of political nature laid out in the leaked memo of September 14, 2010–”Application of the International Regulations (2005) (“IHR”) to the Taiwan Province of China”–issued by Dr. Anne Marie Worning, Executive Director of your Office.

The Department of Health of Chinese Taipei is the highest and sole authority in charge of protecting and promoting the health rights of the 23 million people in Taiwan, and any effective application of the IHR in Taiwan as well as its adjacent islands and waters can only be carried out by my Department. As such, we were included into the implementation network of the IHR and asked to designate a “Point of Contact in Taipei” according to Dr. Bernard P. Kean’s letter to us dated January 2, 2009 (a copy of the letter and our response letter, i.e., a typical binding exchange of letters, attached) . Therefore, the improper procedures and erroneous terminology as described in the memo have unwarranted political implications that are not only inconsistent with the reality, but also hinder the implementation of the IHR.

The World Health Assembly (WHA) is the supreme body of the WHO. In 2009, when for the first time we were invited to attend the Assembly in an observer capacity, our delegation appeared in the list of participants under the heading “Chinese Taipei, ” and was seated behind a plate bearing Chinese Taipei. The fact that that designation was altered without our consent and knowledge in the WHO’s internal memo is most regrettable and does not conform to the WHA’s long tradition of being a professional institution of transparent and consistent practice. I hereby request that you immediately look into this grave matter and redress such a mistake that is absolutely unacceptable to us.

Despite these unfortunate circumstances, I nonetheless wish to express my gratitude to you for inviting me to attend the 64th WHA. I also wish to assure you that my delegation will continue to make substantial contributions to discussions at the Assembly and to the
work of the WHO, just as we have for the past two years.

I look forward to hearing a response from you soon.

(By Nancy Liu)

President asks European Parliament to help with WHO

05/17/11 12:43:59

Taipei, May 17 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Tuesday that the World Health Organization (WHO) should not have two sets of standards, and has requested the help of the European Parliament to demand the use of “Chinese Taipei” as the name for Taiwan.

The president asked Charles Tannock, head of the Friendship of Taiwan Group in the European Parliament, the legislative arm of the European Union, to help ensure Taiwan is referred to properly at the WHO.

His words came against the background of a controversy over a letter issued by WHO Secretary-General Margaret Chan last September, asking its recipients to refer to Taiwan as “the Taiwan province of China.”

The letter was recently disclosed by an opposition Democratic Progressive Party legislator who urged the Taiwan delegation to walk out on the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the WHO, as a protest against such a denigration of its sovereignty.

The president said that Taiwan has taken part in the WHA as an observer under the name of “Chinese Taipei” since 2009, unlike in the past, when Taiwan was only invited to technical meetings.

He only learned recently about WHO’s letter asking recipients to address Taiwan as a “province of China.”

“Upon learning the news, I myself and our health minister currently at the Geneva meeting have lodged strong protest, ” the president said, adding that as an organization with such high stature, the WHO should not have different standards.

Ma said Taiwan has requested that the WHO respect its name of ”Chinese Taipei” for the past three years, which he said was a name confirmed after an exchange of notes.

“The WHO should address us as ‘Chinese Taipei,’ instead of ’Taiwan, China’. We hope you can help us with the proper name in this regard, ” the president told Tannock and his 10-member delegation.

(By Lee Shu-hua and Lilian Wu)

2009 watershed year for Taiwan’s participation in WHA: official

05/17/11 04:43:19

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) Three years ago, Taiwan was invited to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer for the first time, a development that has made at least six differences in terms of Taiwan’s participation in world health affairs, a senior
government official said Monday.

Government Information Minister Philip Yang called 2009 “the watershed year” of Taiwan’s participation in the WHA as he listed six differences that were made in that year.

First, the title was different. Before 2009, the term “Taiwan, China” was used to attend WHA activities. From 2009 on, the title was changed to “Chinese Taipei.”

Second, the status was different. Before 2009, Taiwanese were invited to join WHA activities in the capacity of private citizens or specialists or experts. In 2009, the government was invited as an observer.

Third, the levels of government officials were different. Before 2009, the highest ranking Taiwan official that got invited to WHA sessions were department directors-general of government ministries.

Beginning in 2009, Taiwan’s minister of health was invited.

Fourth, the sessions or meetings were different. Before 2009, Taiwan was asked to attend only technical meetings. From 2009, Taiwan was invited to attend WHA, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) highest decision making body.

Fifth, the channels of communication were different. Prior to 2009, when Taiwan needed to communicate with WHO over matters related to implementing the International Health Regulations (IHR) , the correspondence had to go through Beijing. Since 2009, Taiwan has communicated with WHO directly over IHR-related matters for more than 200 times.

Sixth, the coverage of health-related issues was different. For example, when the SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome) epidemic hit some Asian countries in 2003 including Taiwan, it could not get any information from WHA. In 2009, when H1N1 flu virus struck, Taiwan was able to obtain all relevant information and acquire vaccine strains from the world body.

Yang said Taiwan has since 13 years ago been striving to join the WHO. It was since 2009 that Taiwan has been invited to attend WHA activities as an observer under the title of Chinese Taipei.

When all things are compared, it is easy to see that since 2009, Taiwan’s substantive participation in WHA has not just improved people’s wellbeing in the health area, but also maintained the dignity of the country, Yang added.

(By Emannuelle Tseng and S.C. Chang)

Calling Taiwan a ‘province of China’ totally unacceptable: MOFA

05/17/11 01:43:51

Taipei, May 16 (CNA) Taiwan’s Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta told a World Health Organization (WHO) official Monday that calling Taiwan a province of China — as it did in a September, 2010 letter — was ”totally unacceptable,” according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

In a press release, MOFA said Chiu made the protest in person when he delivered a strong-worded letter of protest to WHO’s legal counsel Gian Luca Burci in the presence of six representatives of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies based in Geneva.

Chiu was protesting a letter issued by the WHO secretary-general’s office in September 2010 that instructed its various agencies to use “the Taiwan province of China” whenever
referring to Taiwan.

The effects of correspondence between the WHO and Chinese Taipei in 2009 regarding the implementation of the International Health Regulations (IHR) should prevail over those of the secretary-general’s 2010 letter, Chiu said to Burci.

Chiu added that when referring to Taiwan, WHO should follow WHA’s practice by using the name of Chinese Taipei.

In his letter of protest to WHO Secretary-General Margaret Chan, the Taiwan minister pointed out that in a correspondence with Chinese Taipei in January, 2009 agreeing to accept Taiwan as part of the IHR operation networks, the WHO asked Taiwan authorities to designate a ”Point of Contact in Taipei.”

However, Chiu continued, the WHO, in an internal document dated September 2010, stated an inappropriate procedure for implementing the IHR involving Taiwan and used an erroneous term to refer to the country.

The term — “the Taiwan province of China” — is biased and full of political implications, he said. That term is not just completely contrary to the fact, but also hinders the implementation of the IHR, Chiu said.

That false term is “totally unacceptable” and Chinese Taipei would like to express a strong protest over its use, Chiu said in his letter.

The letter pointed out that Chinese Taipei has been invited to the World Health Assembly, the highest decision making body of the WHO, for three years in a row and WHA in all of its official documents has always used the name of Chinese Taipei.

The Chinese Taipei delegation to the WHA deeply regrets WHO’s use of the term “the Taiwan province of China” that contravenes WHA practices and it sincerely hopes that WTO would immediately correct it on the principle of consistency and transparency, said the letter.

Representatives of Taiwan’s allies based in Geneva also called on the WTO to properly handle this issue, saying the WTO’s term for Taiwan does not accord with the fact and does not show respect for the country.

Accepting Chiu’s letter on behalf of the secretary-general, Burci said he will quickly hand it over to Chan and the assembly will look into the matter later. He promised to keep in contact with Chinese Taipei over this matter.

Burci told Chiu that Taiwan’s performances in the past WHA sessions were impressive and he hoped to see more of Taiwan in theupcoming events.

(By S.C. Chang)

Taiwan’s health minister lodges WHO protest

Department of Health Minister Chiu Wen-ta lodged a formal complaint with the World Health Organization May 16 over its reference to Taiwan as a province of mainland China in a leaked internal memo.

“Describing Taiwan in such a manner is disrespectful,” Chiu said. “We expect the WHO to take immediate action in correcting its mistake.”

Chiu, who is attending the World Health Assembly in Geneva, made the remarks while presenting a three-page protest letter to WHO Legal Counsel Gian Luca Burci. In the document, the minister cited WHO Secretary-General Margaret Chan’s memo last September on implementing International Heath Regulations.

Describing the situation as unacceptable, Chiu called on the WHO to follow the WHA in referring to Taiwan as Chinese Taipei in all documentation as a matter of consistency.

In response, Burci agreed to pass the letter along to Chan and praised Taiwan for its contributions and ongoing participation in the assembly.

This year’s WHA, which runs May 16 to 24, represents the third time Taiwan has been invited to participate in the event as an observer. (JSM)

Write to Elaine Hou at elainehou@mail.gio.gov.tw

Source : Taiwan Today