Taipei, May 19 (IANS) The World Health Assembly (WHA) has become a platform for China‘s manipulation of the UN system and international legal order amid Beijing’s efforts to disrupt the cross-strait “status quo”, local media reported, citing the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan (MPAT).

The World Health Organisation’s 79th annual WHA began on Monday in Geneva, with Taiwan not receiving an invitation for the 10th consecutive year, following its last participation as an observer in 2016.

The assembly’s General Committee and the Plenary Session once again turned down a proposal seeking Taiwan’s invitation to attend the WHA as an observer, a report in Taipei Times highlighted on Tuesday.

During a plenary hearing on Taiwan’s participation in the WHA, the assembly heard China and Pakistan argue for its continued exclusion, while Taiwanese allies Palau and Paraguay expressed support for Taiwan’s inclusion.

According to MPAT, China referred to the three core tenets of its “one China” principle, asserting that there is only one China in the world, that Taiwan is a part of China and that it is the only legitimate government representing the whole of China.

The alliance said that Beijing further twisted the meaning of UN Resolution 2758.

Adopted in 1971, the resolution recognised the People’s Republic of China as the only legitimate government, enabling it to replace Taiwan as a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

MPAT executive director Lin Shih-chia said that Beijing repeatedly accuses Taiwan of disrupting the “status quo”, while it is China that is manipulating the cross-strait relations and leveraging the UN and the WHA to escalate tensions.

The report noted that China’s position was echoed by Pakistan, which argued that the issue “falls beyond the mandate” of the WHA and called on member states to rather concentrate on the technical health agenda.

On the other hand, Palau and Paraguay backed Taiwan, dismissing China’s interpretation of Resolution 2758, highlighting Taiwan’s contributions during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Stressing that the issue is not a political but a “public health imperative”, Palau said that exclusion of Taiwan “weakens global disease surveillance, delays information sharing and undermines collective preparedness”.

According to Paraguay, achieving the highest possible standard of health is a fundamental human right, warning that with the “resurgence of infectious diseases and zoonotic threats”, excluding any actor with proven capacities is “a risk for all of us”, the report noted.

–IANS

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