Taiwan not invited to WHO meeting after China's 'obstruction'; expresses 'strong regret'

Taiwan has yet not received an official invitation to an upcoming World Health Organization meeting due to an “obstruction” from China. The WHO meeting scheduled to be conducted later this week aims at discussing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. However, despite successfully taking down the infection and US-backed lobbying efforts, Taipei is still to be counted in for the meet.  

"The Foreign Ministry expresses strong regret and dissatisfaction at China's obstruction of Taiwan participating in the WHO and the WHO's continuing to neglect the health and human rights of Taiwan's 23.5 million people,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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Slamming the UN health agency, Taipei also added that WHO’s refusal to invite the island nation based on political considerations made a mockery of its “health for all” claim. Meanwhile, the WHO has asserted that it was up to member states whether to invite Taiwan, which has been praised internationally for quickly containing the coronavirus, to observe the WHA meeting.

US-backed lobbying

Last month, the US mission to Geneva urged the WHO chief to include Taiwan in the meeting. In addendum, even Taipei itself has stepped up effort in lobbying for inclusion. Since the Taiwanese Independence, the Communist Party of China has claimed the island to be a part of Chinese territory under its ‘One Nation, Two Systems’ policy. However, the island has claimed to be an independent nation altogether. 

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Earlier this month, China slammed the United States government for interfering in what it termed as "internal matters" and selling arms to Taiwan in violation of the one-China policy. China said that the United States is still suffering from the "Cold-War mentality" and criticised Washington for creating regional tensions and benefiting from it.  The United States has been constantly backing Taipei in its struggle for freedom and has signed multiple trade agreements with the island. 

The U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency on October 21 released a statement saying the State Department has approved the sale of 135 AGM-84H Standoff Land Attack Missile Expanded Response (SLAM-ER) Missiles and related equipment for an estimated cost of $1.008 billion to Taiwan, which it says will help improve the security of Taiwan and assist in maintaining political stability, military balance in the region.