It’d be unwise to exclude Taiwan

Delegations from the member countries of the World Health Organization (WHO) including Canada will soon be attending the World Health Assembly (WHA), the decision-making body of the WHO. Regrettably, Taiwan has once again been excluded from the annual meeting which will hold its 71st session this year from May 21 to 26 in Geneva.

The enjoyment of good health is a universal right of every human being. It’s morally wrong for any country or organization to ignore the health and well-being of the 23 million Taiwanese people and prevent them from sharing international health information by participating in 2018 WHA.

Epidemics know no borders. Taiwan’s absence from the WHO would create a significant gap in global cooperation on public health safety and disease prevention. Taiwan sees more than 60 million incoming and outgoing passengers a year and it hosts 60,000 Canadians on its soil.

Without timely access to critical medical information through the organization, any outbreak of infectious diseases such as SARS in 2003 would affect Taiwanese as well as Canadians living in the country.

Canada has long been a supporter of Taiwan’s meaningful participation in international organizations.

I sincerely hope that Canada will continue to advocate and facilitate the inclusion of Taiwan to the WHA.

Tom Chih-Chiang Lee, director general,

Taipei Economic and Cultural Office, Vancouver