Taiwan, as a province of China, has no right to join the WHA as an independent member state. /CGTN
Editor's note: CGTN's First Voice provides instant commentary on breaking stories. The daily column clarifies emerging issues and better defines the news agenda, offering a Chinese perspective on the latest global events.
With the artillery fire still exchanging at the Russia-Ukraine border, the U.S. is allocating more attention to China's Taiwan region. After deleting the phrases that the U.S. "does not support Taiwan independence" and "Taiwan is part of China" from its White House online fact sheet, Washington has started stirring up trouble over Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA). At the instigation of Washington, 13 member countries have submitted formal proposals this week to discuss inviting the Taiwan region to the assembly.
Shouting "democracy," the U.S. is hijacking the global health body to create turmoil for China. From the Middle East to Ukraine to China's Taiwan region, containing geopolitical rivals and uprooting the regimes it does not like, rather than so-called peace and democracy, is what the U.S. cares most about.
In regards to Taiwan's WHA participation, the World Health Organization is a UN agency composed of sovereign states, which means Taiwan, as a province of China, has no right to join it as an independent member state. From 2009 to 2016, the Taiwan region was invited to the assembly as an observer in the name of "Chinese Taipei." This is a special arrangement made under the precondition of the one-China principle. But the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), since assuming office in 2016, has refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus. Their stunts have ruined the political basis for the province's participation in WHO activities.
In this context, Washington's politically-motivated plot to drag Taiwan into the WHA stands doomed to fail. This is the sixth consecutive year that the U.S. sponsored the proposal. Clear as it is, the plan would go nowhere, but Washington keeps pushing it. The world's superpower is obstinate in applying every possible tool – Taiwan's WHA bid, Hong Kong national security bill, Xinjiang's vocational education and training center, the COVID-19 pandemic, etc. – to create a nuisance for China, a rising socialist country that it deems as a geopolitical rival. Washington does not care about the result of its plot, as long as it could stir up tensions for its competitor.
The World Health Organization headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. /Xinhua
The U.S. has been very adept at playing such games to gain selfish political gains. Under the slogan of democracy, Washington has invaded Iraq, Afghanistan, Syria, and a slew of other countries whose regimes are perceived as not pro-Western – at the cost of millions of innocent lives. Holding high the banner of peace, it pushed Ukraine into a war zone to isolate Russia on the global stage. And Washington has been repeatedly using the Taiwan question to contain China – at the sacrifice of Taiwan people's well-being and the efficiency of global organizations.
The country's recent move on Taiwan's WHA participation shows no respect for the WHO. Even though the U.S. returned to the global health body under the Biden administration, its manipulation on the Taiwan question is undeniably a farce at the assembly, thus damaging the WHO's reputation and efficiency. Pushing the Taiwan scheme, Washington is taking advantage of the global health body – only to stir up problems for China.
The one-China principle has long been an international norm and a consensus of the global community. As COVID-19 continues to sweep across the globe, the international community expects to intensify anti-virus cooperation at the WHA. The vast majority of WHO members have no interest in witnessing a political farce at this global health event, which is being manipulated by Washington as a theatre for its selfish political game.
Abiding by the one-China principle is the key to Taiwan's access to the WHA. Any attempt to refuse this principle will lead to a dead end.
(If you want to contribute and have specific expertise, please contact us at opinions@cgtn.com. Follow @thouse_opinions on Twitter to discover the latest commentaries in the CGTN Opinion Section.)