Taiwan's health minister has accused the World Health Organization (WHO) of being "irresponsible" in the face of requests from some of its members and Taipei to allow Taiwan to attend this year's World Health Assembly (WHA). Chen was responding to remarks by Steven Solomon, the WHO's principal legal officer, at a press event in Geneva Monday regarding Taiwan's participation at the WHA, the organization's top decision-making body. For years Taiwan has sought wider participation in WHO meetings and the annual WHA, but has been prevented from doing so by pressure from Beijing. This year, the call has been louder because many have argued Taiwan should not be excluded from the WHO as the new coronavirus spreads around the world. From 2009-2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei amid better relations with China under the then-Kuomintang administration.

Source: The Standard May 06, 2020 02:48 UTC