The Department of Foreign Affairs (DFAT) supports Taiwan’s involvement in the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an “observer” in line with Australia’s “one-China policy.”
DFAT’s support comes after Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung sent an email to media outlets globally calling on the WHO to include the nation as part of a global effort to contain the virus.
Chen pointed to the success of Taiwan’s containment measures saying that, “Despite its proximity to China, Taiwan ranked 123rd among 183 countries in terms of confirmed cases per million people.”
“In the 17 years since it was hit hard by the SARS outbreak, Taiwan has been in a state of constant readiness to the threat of emerging infectious disease,” said Chen.
Australia has over 6,801 confirmed infections and has recorded 95 deaths.
In an email to The Epoch Times, the Department of Foreign Affairs said the WHO needs to ensure “inclusive, practical cooperation and robust information exchange” between nations, and the WHO must maintain a “close working relationship with all health authorities.”
One-China Policy Dispute
Beijing has repeatedly tried to discourage attempts at recognising Taiwan as a formal country. This is because the Chinese regime claims Taiwan as part of its territory. The dispute has its roots in the 1945 establishment of the government of the Republic of China on the island.“Dior has always respected and upheld the ‘One China’ principle, and strictly safeguards China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity,” a statement from the company read, adding that such incidents will never happen again. “Dior is a friend of China.”
However, in 2017, China barred Taiwan from taking part in the World Health Assembly and its meetings.
Taiwan Vice President Chen Chien-jen said they had warned the WHO about the risk of human-to-human transmission of a pneumonia-like disease in China on Dec. 31, 2019.
Taiwan is currently not a WHO member state.
