Taiwan‘s bid to participate in the annual conference of the World Health Organization was rejected on Monday, the conference said, in a decision following a campaign by pressure from China to divide the island in a statement that the proposal submitted by 13 WHO members demanding that Taiwan join as a spectator will not be included in its official list.
Taiwan is not included in most of the world because of Beijing’s opposition. China emphasizes that Taiwan should not be considered an independent state as it regards the island as one of its provinces.
Taiwan claims that its withdrawal from the WHO has hampered efforts to combat the COVID-19 epidemic, even though it has been allowed to attend other WHO meetings in a closed meeting.
“The political and legal basis for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA no longer exists,” Chen Xu, China’s ambassador to the UN in Geneva, told the conference shortly before the decision. “This political exploitation will face opposition from all parties.”
This year’s conference, attended by thousands of delegates including about 100 delegates from China, will discuss key changes such as changes in WHO funding. Taiwan last week expressed “dissatisfaction and regret” over the failure of the World Health Organization to invite him to attend the summit, amid pressure from Chinese officials to divide the island.
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