Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly is becoming a normal routine, Health Minister Yaung Chih-liang and former Health Minister Yeh Chin-chuan both said May 17.
Yaung and Yeh made the observation in Geneva, Switzerland, where the two are attending the 63rd WHA meeting.
In 2009, when Yeh was still health minister, Taiwan attended the WHA conference as an observer for the first time in ROC history. This year marks the second year in a row that the nation has participated in the annual WHA meetings.
Yaung met with his mainland Chinese counterpart Chen Zhu in Geneva May 17 to discuss a variety of medical and health issues that are of concern to both sides, sources said.
As epidemic control is of concern to both Taiwan and mainland China, analysts said it is likely that Yaung and Chen exchanged views on issues including tuberculosis control and cracking down on counterfeit medicines during their meeting.
These talks could pave the way for a cross-strait agreement on health cooperation that could be inked during the sixth cross-strait talks slated for late 2010.
In addition to meeting with mainland health officials, Yaung also held talks with the Singaporean delegation. He is also scheduled to meet with Guatemala’s minister of health to discuss Taiwan’s donation of vaccines.
According to Kang Jaw-jou, director-general of the Food and Drug Administration under the DOH, Yaung is scheduled to attend the expert meetings and is expected to call for the establishment of a direct channel between the WHO and Taiwan’s DOH, especially for food safety and counterfeit drug information, fearing that such information might be held up by the mainland Chinese authorities.
Several groups from Taiwan and Europe gathered in front of the United Nations Office at Geneva May 17, demanding that the WHO accept Taiwan as an official member.
Yaung had a lunch meeting with the protesters May 16, during which he stressed that acquiring full membership of the WHO is the ultimate goal of the government.
“Yaung is the first health minister who has been willing to sit down with us and listen to our appeals,” said a member of the groups. (KL-HZW)