For many years now, China’s mantra to Taiwan’s bid for a seat at the World Health Organization (WHO) has been, when pigs fly.
Ironically, just about the time the swine flu began spreading, China came to its senses and lost some of its pigheadedness on the subject.
In a rare diplomatic victory for the defiant island nation, which has lived in the shadow of China’s constant threats, Taiwan has won a seat as an observer at this year’s annual meeting of the WHO on May 18.
This marks the first time the country has been allowed to participate in a meeting or activity of a specialized United Nations agency since losing its UN membership to China in 1971.
The breakthrough is regarded as the result of improved Taipei-Beijing ties and pressure from the United States, Japan, the European Union and Taiwan’s 23 diplomatic allies, and may pave the way for Taiwan’s return to other international organizations.
Taiwan’s fight to rejoin international organizations dates back to 1949, when the Republic of China’s (ROC’s) government lost the Chinese Civil War to the Communists and set up its government-in-exile in Taiwan.
The UN expelled the ROC to accept the People’s Republic of China in 1971. Subsequently, Taiwan was kicked out of all UN-affiliated organizations, suffering international isolation as most countries cut diplomatic ties with Taipei to recognize Beijing.
Currently, only 23 mostly-small nations recognize Taiwan, which in 1993 launched a campaign to re-join international bodies, but has failed so far due to opposition from Beijing.
The WHO move to invite Taiwan came as the world is fighting a swine-flu outbreak which has the potential to turn into a global pandemic.
Taiwan will attend under the name of Chinese-Taipei, the name China requires Taiwan to use in its international activities.
Taiwan media hailed the approval as “the biggest breakthrough in Taiwan’s diplomatic battle in six decades.”
President Ma Ying-jeou said Taiwan’s rejoining the WHO is due to Taiwan’s perseverance, China’s goodwill and support from the international community.
The human rights and public health of the 23 million Taiwan people should not be neglected because of politics, he said
He could not be more right.
China has for far too long dictated the health rights of Taiwan.
Despite the recent decision, Taiwan still has no access to important WHO documents and no voting rights.
Short of full participation in all the WHO organization’s mechanisms, meetings and activities, Taiwan will continue to be excluded from discussions concerning human health and welfare, such as disease prevention, food safety, tobacco control and the prevention of counterfeiting pharmaceutical products.
It is incomprehensible that a full-fledged democracy with a well-established healthcare system like Taiwan remains excluded from full participation in the WHO.
This exclusion was a critical negative factor during the 2003 outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS), which killed 73 people in Taiwan.
During the SARS crisis, the WHO did not pass on information to Taiwan until several days after SARS had broken out on the island, prompting Taipei to protest that the World Health Organisation was mixing health issues with politics.
Excluding Taiwan from full WHO membership only creates a loophole in the WHO’s global network to fight epidemics.
Taiwan’s health issues should not be a political debate anymore.
It should be one of human rights.
Here is hoping that Taiwan’s victory gets infectious.

- With Files From DPA and News Agencies