Health concerns meet politics amid Taiwan’s WHO exclusion

Taiwan’s exclusion from World Health Organization is pitting health concerns against geopolitics during current crisis over new illness kwn as COVID-19. Taiwan has called repeatedly for it to be allowed to participate in WHO, from which it has been barred by China. So strong is China’s diplomatic pressure that Taiwan can longer take part in organization’s annual World Health Assembly, even as an observer.

China claims sovereignty over self-ruled Taiwan and uses its diplomatic clout to stop island from joining any organizations that require statehood for membership. Taiwan left United Nations in 1971 when China joined and is excluded from all of its ncies, including International Civil Aviation Organization, which has also played a role in current crisis.

But some observers say Taiwan's publicity offensive seems at least as much about highlighting its China-imposed diplomatic isolation as it is about public health.

Lack of WHO membership puts Taiwan at risk of missing firsthand updates on infectious diseases, but island’s government has found alternative ways to stay informed, officials and analysts say.

“I think WHO matter is more politics than real needs,” said Alex Chiang, associate professor of international politics at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “Even though we are t in WHO, we can still get this info from many, many or places.”

Still, delays in getting latest information pose a danger to Taiwan and international community, foreign ministry spokeswoman Joanna Ou said.

“If re is way to get timely information about outbreak as well as way to participate completely in international health bodies, that could pose a high-level risk,” she said.

China's isolation campaign against Taiwan has grown since 2016, when independence-leaning Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen took office.

China’s Communist government seeks to lump Taiwan with semi-automous Chinese territories of Hong Kong and Macao when reporting outbreak data, something considered highly condescending to people of island who have never been ruled by Communist government in Beijing.

new viral disease, COVID-19, has caused 1,380 deaths in mainland China as of Friday. Taiwan has reported 18 cases, all linked to people who flew in from China, but fatalities.

Despite obstacles, WHO spokesman Tarik Jasarevic in Geneva said Wednesday that organization is allowing Taiwan to access information about virus and is also taking virus data from Taiwan for wider use. Taiwan was also invited to participate in a global coronavirus forum this week, Jasarevic said.

“We have Taiwanese experts involved in all of our consultations — clinical networks, laboratory networks, and ors — so y’re fully engd and fully aware of all of developments in expert networks,” Jasarevic said.

Disease outbreaks always lay bare effects of Taiwan’s exclusion from organizations such as WHO, analysts say. Pragmatism generally wins out in end, even if Beijing’s approval is required first.

As Taiwan grappled in 2003 with SARS, a related viral disease that also originated in China, WHO sent a two-person team to Taipei that helped local health authorities control outbreak, which contributed to 73 deaths on island.

“If re’s a true outbreak like SARS outbreak, WHO wouldn’t withhold assistance because, what if it spre to somewhere else?” said Joanna Lei, chief executive officer of Chunghua 21st Century Think Tank in Taiwan.