China warns Taiwan of continued lockout from WHO assembly

China’s health minister has all but slammed the door on any more participation for Taiwan at the World Health Organization’s annual assembly until the island’s government accepts the “One China” principle.

Health Minister Li Bin blamed the party of Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, saying its refusal to accept the idea of a single China has torpedoed its ambitions to attend — leading to the first lockout of Taiwan as an observer state since 2008.

Li said that in the past, China had “agreed to let the Taiwan region attend” under a “special arrangement” based on acceptance of the principle. Speaking to reporters Sunday on the eve of the assembly’s opening, she said the refusal of Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party to accept the principle “has destroyed the goodwill basis for the continuous attendance of the Taiwan region into the assembly.”

“In a nutshell, it is the Democratic Progressive Party itself which has set the barrier that has impeded the participation of the Taiwan region into the World Health Assembly,” she said. “Only when the political basis that reflects the ‘One-China’ principle has been confirmed can the regular exchanges across the strait be sustained.”

“And only then can the two sides of the Taiwan Strait resume their consultations regarding the possibility of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly,” Li added. She said Taiwan would still take part in “technical” aspects of WHO work, and pointed to cooperation between China and Taiwan on issues such as emergency rescue and reporting of communicable-disease epidemics.