Canada, the United States and six major allies have told the World Health Organization that its ongoing exclusion of Taiwan has created a serious public health concern during the COVID-19 crisis.
That sharp message was delivered in a letter, a draft of which has been viewed by The Canadian Press, that tells WHO director general Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreysus to allow Taiwan to be given observer status at a major meeting of the organization on Monday.
The draft of the letter delivers a sharp explanation of that point: it says Taiwan's early success at controlling the pandemic qualifies it for a seat at the World Health Assembly meetings, and the letter essentially tells the agency to stop playing politics. The letter says it was "regrettable" that the WHO broke with its guiding principles by excluding Taiwan from the assembly. It defines the WHO's guiding principle as ensuring that "all people" have a right to the highest health standards, regardless of political belief, race, religion or economic or social conditions.
Despite co-operation on health and trade since the pandemic's outbreak, relations between Canada and China have been severely strained since the RCMP arrested Chinese high-tech scion Meng Wanzhou on an American extradition warrant in December 2018. "The spread of the virus to 185 countries -- with more than four million confirmed cases and 286,000 deaths worldwide as of May 12 -- demonstrates the deadly ramifications of China's influence over the WHO for the international community's pandemic preparedness," says the U.S. report.
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