Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Tuesday that the US is pressing the WHO to welcome Taiwan as an observer to its annual conference in Geneva from May 21 to 30.
In 2017, China, which considers Taiwan one of its provinces, blocked Taiwan’s participation in the WHO’s annual assembly in a diplomatic drive to isolate the island, which opposes Chinese sovereignty claims.
“Inviting Taiwan as an observer would exemplify the WHO’s commitment to an inclusive, ‘health for all’ approach to international health cooperation,” Blinken added.
He noted that Washington’s one-China policy supports participation.
Taiwan’s foreign ministry commended the US for its strong support for participation, saying the island’s absence would be “completely beyond reason” and hurt global health cooperation.
