Taiwan blames China for WHO invite snub

TAIPEI (AFP) — Taiwan said Tuesday it had been excluded from a major World Health Organization meeting for the first time in eight years, blaming rival China for the snub as relations worsen. Delegates attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva later this month were supposed to receive their invites by Monday. Taiwan, which is fighting international marginalization as Beijing puts pressure on its allies, said it had not received one. “Mainland China pressured the WHO and blocked it from issuing us an invitation... we express strong dissatisfaction and protest,” the island’s Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.