Peters supports Taiwan going back to WHO
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is courting fresh problems in New Zealand’s diplomatic relationship with China by publicly backing Taiwan’s bid to participate again in the World Health Organisation.
Speaking at Parliament, he was asked if he supported Taiwan rejoining the WHO as championed by the United States and Australia, and he said: “I always have, personally. You’ve got to have every organisation in the world in the WHO if it’s to have any meaning.”
Peters said he had supported that position for 30 years.
“In the interests of international health you want every country in an international organisation designed to improve the world’s health. It’s just logic.”
Asked what New Zealand’s position was, he said “I’ll let you know when we make a formal announcement”.
Asked whether, as Foreign Minister, he still supported New Zealand’s longstanding One China policy — which recognises only China and not Taiwan as a sovereign state — he deflected the question and said he supported China’s “one country, two systems” policy which is about Hong Kong, not Taiwan.
Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern was also asked at a press conference whether she supported Taiwan’s readmission as an observer to the World Health Organisation and was more dismissive.
“WHO membership is not something I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about at present,” she said.
“It’s not my decision about WHO membership as a collective institution.
“There’s a much wider body that makes these decisions.”
Taiwan became an observer in the WHO’s decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, from 2009 to 2016 after the Sars crisis. But China put pressure to block further participation with the election of Tsa Ingwen as President in 2016.
However, China has been angered by renewed pressure from the United States and Australia to open doors for Taiwan, in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic which Taiwan has largely beaten.
With a population of about 24 million, it has had only 438 cases and six deaths.
The US has also increased tensions with China over an aggressive posture in demanding an inquiry into the source of Covid-19, with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo saying it originated in a Wuhan laboratory.
Peters has supported similar calls but in a more diplomatic fashion, saying that threats of a boycott of Australian goods by China’s ambassador to Australia may have been incorrect. And he said he had been assured by China — Ambassador Wu Xi — that China did not make such threats.
The chairman of the Taiwan New Zealand Business Council, Charles Finny, welcomed Peters’ comments.
“It is a nonsense not having Taiwan a full part of the World health Organisation process because they have demonstrated they are world leaders in their ability to address the these types of challenges and by not having them part of the process, we create a global vulnerability.
“On issues like this, it is important to put politics to one side and have everyone in the room to try and address what is a global problem.”
Finny said he would personally like New Zealand to be “even more fulsome” in support of Taiwanese participation in the World Health Organisation in some form. At the very least it should be an observer, and ideally a member, said Finny.
It was already a full member of the World Trade Organisation and Apec, and it should be a full member of other bodies that dealt with issues, including the World Health Organisation and the International Civil Aviation Organisation, he said.