Taiwan excluded again from WHO meeting in Geneva as observer status proposal fails to make agenda

Just a week after new Taiwanese leader William Lai vowed to expand the island’s global participation, WHO member states decline to consider its involvement

It’s the eighth time since 2017 that the island has not been allowed to attend the World Health Assembly

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Delegates attend the WHO’s World Health Assembly in Geneva on Monday. Photo: Reuters

Published: 5:59pm, 28 May 2024

Taiwan’s new leader has been dealt a blow just a week into the job, with the island again excluded from the annual World Health Organization (WHO) meeting, despite growing international support for its involvement.

WHO member states voted on Monday for an eighth consecutive time against discussing Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the organisation’s highest decision-making body.

Observers noted that for Taiwan to attend the meeting or any other gatherings of UN-related organisations, Beijing held the key.

William Lai Ching-te vowed in his inauguration speech last week to expand Taiwan’s global participation, but the proposal for Taiwan to be granted observer status failed to make it onto the agenda due to objections from member states aligned with Beijing, according to a Taiwanese delegation.

“Due to political considerations, the WHO has continued to exclude Taiwan. This undermines the WHO’s efforts to create a more comprehensive global health architecture,” Taiwan’s semi-official Central News Agency quoted new Health Minister Chiu Tai-yuan as saying in Geneva.

Chiu said the WHO should align its actions with this year’s assembly theme of “All for Health, Health for All”.