Beijing, May 12 (IANS) China has announced that it will not approve Taiwan’s participation in the 79th World Health Assembly (WHA) set to be held in Geneva from May 18-23.

Addressing a regular press conference in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun reiterated the country’s stance that Taiwan is an “inalienable” part of China and the Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Guo stated that Taiwan’s participation in the activities of international organisations, including the WHO, must be handled in line with the ‘One-China’ principle.

“There is but one China in the world. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China’s territory. The Government of the People’s Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. China’s position on the Taiwan region’s participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, is consistent and clear. That is, this must be handled in line with the one-China principle, which is also a fundamental principle recognized by UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1,” said Jiakun when asked about Taiwan not receiving an invitation to attend the 79th World Health Assembly.

“China’s Taiwan region, unless given approval by the Central Government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the WHA. Due to the DPP authorities’ persistent separatist stance, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA no longer exists. To uphold the one-China principle as well as the sanctity and authority of relevant UNGA and WHA resolutions, China has decided not to approve the Taiwan region’s participation in this year’s WHA. Any attempt to play the ‘Taiwan card’ for political manipulation in defiance of the one-China principle is doomed to fail,” he added.

China maintains that Taiwan is a part of its territory and needs to be reunified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Despite China’s efforts, Taiwan, backed by strong public support, continues to assert its sovereignty and responds to China’s incursions.

Despite not receiving invitation to the WHA for the 10th consecutive year, Taiwan’s Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung has said that he is trying to arrange a visit to Geneva to attend events Taiwan is organising to coincide with the annual World Health Assembly, the Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

When asked whether he would visit Geneva to be part of a team advocating Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly, Lin Chia-lung told opposition Kuomintang (KMT) lawmaker Yeh Yuan-chih that his ministry was drafting such a plan, without sharing further details.

When asked about the issue again during a press event, Lin did not share details and said that ministry would announce the visit if the plan is finalised.

The World Health Assembly is the annual decision-making meeting of the WHO and Taiwan has not participated in it since 2016, when it went as an observer while ties with China were better.

Taiwan has held events in Geneva, where the WHO is headquartered and the WHA is held, to coincide with the WHA. However, no Taiwanese Foreign Minister has ever visited Geneva or participated in the Taiwan’s WHA action team events, CNA reported.

Taiwan and Switzerland do not share official diplomatic ties, making it unlikely that Lin Chia-lung would be permitted to visit Geneva in an official capacity, reports cited.

–IANS

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