The support for Taiwan’s participation in activities, mechanisms and meetings of the World Health Organization by lawmakers from Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania is sincerely appreciated, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs May 1.
Around 80 Lithuanian members of parliament, more than half of the nation’s legislators, signed a letter April 24 to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus underlining the importance of Taiwan’s involvement in the 72nd World Health Assembly May 20-28 in Geneva.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO creates a gap in the global health network that poses a threat to the security of all humankind, the parliamentarians wrote. It is unfair that the 23 million people of Taiwan are denied the basic right of health as enjoyed by the rest of the world, they added.
In a similar letter the following day, six members of the Latvian parliament wrote that Taiwan’s participation will strengthen the international disease prevention system and related WHO initiatives. The lawmakers added that this is also consistent with the policy objectives of the EU and its member states and serves the interests of all parties concerned.
According to the letter penned April 29 on behalf of the Taiwan Friendship Group in the Estonian parliament by MP Kalle Laanet, Taiwan is committed to realizing the WHO’s vision of health as a fundamental human right. This is evidenced by its announcement of a US$1 million donation to tackle the Ebola outbreak in 2018, he wrote.
The MOFA said that these statements by legislators from the Baltic nations join expressions of support from parliamentarians in other like-minded countries including Britain, France and Germany. This growing chorus spotlights the injustice of Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO system, and underscores how Taiwan’s participation in the upcoming WHA can help bolster global health security, the ministry added. (HC-E)
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