Taiwan’s Bid to Join the WHO

Project for the New American Century ^ | May 14, 2004 | Ellen Bork

[RWR8189]

MEMORANDUM TO: OPINION LEADERS

FROM: ELLEN BORK, Deputy Director

SUBJECT: Taiwan’s Bid to Join the WHO

Think back to this time last year. The epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), the mysterious virus that eventually caused hundreds of deaths in 2003 was just beginning to ease. For months, the disease, which originated in southern China, had confounded health authorities who did not know how it spread or at first, just what kind of a virus it was. Amid this highly charged atmosphere, Taiwan’s bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO) as an observer failed because even countries that claimed to support it failed to act effectively.

This year, the whole drama threatens to play out again in the same awful way. The U.S. says it favors Taiwan’s admission as an observer. Last year U.S. officials said the same thing, but at the Geneva meeting of the WHO’s governing body, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson went no further than to say, “The United States has strongly supported Taiwan’s inclusion in efforts against SARS and beyond.” It’s not hard to see why Taiwan lost.

The merits of Taiwan’s case to join the WHO as an observer fall into two categories. First, as a health matter, Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO prevented it from getting help it needed to deal with the SARS epidemic. Taiwan’s health experts were unable to get information from the WHO in a timely way, excluded from meetings and weekly video conferences and left to find information on the WHO website. Nor was Taiwan able to benefit from WHO expertise on quarantine and containment procedures. The suggestion that Taiwan gets what it needs from the WHO even without being part of the organization is wrong. According to one expert, the prompt arrival of more experts could have pinpointed weaknesses in Taiwan’s public health system that led to a second round of infections.

Nor has Taiwan’s isolation in health matters changed for the better since then. Taipei’s requests for information from the WHO on other regional health concerns, such as the outbreak of avian influenza, have gone unanswered. Is this what we expect from the WHO? Do we really want the WHO to worry more about geo-politics than world health?

Even if Taiwan could, through cumbersome efforts replicate the benefits of WHO membership, why should it? Other non-states like the Palestinian Authority and the Knights of Malta are observers. Why should the international community allow China to dictate the quality of health for 23 million people, or create additional global risks by excluding Taiwan, especially in light of its own role in the international spread of SARS?

Politically, Taiwan’s observer membership in the WHO also makes sense. The Bush administration seeks ways to mitigate Taiwan’s international isolation while staying within the confines of the “one China” policy, which denies Taiwan diplomatic recognition. The past year of U.S -China relations has been marked by intense pressure from China to degrade U.S.-Taiwan ties. Active support for WHO membership would actually help defuse Washington-Beijing tensions. Beijing would recognize that there is a level of respect for Taiwan that the U.S. will not abandon, and that it in fact respects Taiwan for its responsible international action – like cooperating in global health, proliferation, and other matters.

Neither Washington’s “one China” policy nor existing law require that Washington treat Taiwan or China in this fashion. To the contrary, under the Taiwan Relations Act, the U.S. has an obligation not to treat Taiwan as some rogue international entity. Before Secretary Thompson’s plane touches down in Geneva for next week’s meeting, the Bush administration should commit itself to sponsoring a resolution in favor of Taiwan’s observer status in the organization and getting it on the meeting’s agenda.

Of course, even with staunch U.S. efforts, the U.S. may end up standing alone this year. Last year, Japan, Taiwan’s next most powerful ally, reportedly withdrew its commitment to support Taiwan’s application after China threatened to cancel a summit meeting between Communist Party General Secretary Hu Jintao and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi. Countries that cross China find themselves isolated and punished. In the absence of U.S. leadership, our allies have become gun shy when it comes to standing up to Beijing. It’s time to reverse that trend.

[scottinoc]

"Daltrey Sings Townshend" travesty

Are you saying Pete carries the water talent-wise? I guess I would have to agree...after seeing Roger play the tin man on PBS, it was about time they get the band (what's left of them) back together

[NYC GOP Chick]

No, just that without him, it's a Daltrey solo tour. And vice versa. That said, we're going to see them at Madison Square Garden next Saturday night! :D