For the sixth year in a row, the World Health Assembly (WHA) has rejected proposals relating to the Taiwan region, demonstrating the shared international commitment to the one-China principle, an overriding trend that cannot be challenged, a senior Chinese diplomat said on Monday.

Chen Xu, China's Permanent Representative to the UN Office at Geneva, made the remarks during a press conference after the WHA, the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Monday refused to include a proposal on Taiwan's participation in its agenda.

The 75th WHA takes place from May 22 to 28. Taiwan has not been invited to the event. Highlighting the significance of the rule of law, Chen pointed out that the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1 provided the legal basis for WHO to abide by the one-China principle.

The Taiwan-related proposal hyped by some countries undermines the international order anchored upon international law, runs against the international law, basic norms governing international relations, and is illegal and invalid, he stressed.

Chen urged the countries concerned to abide by the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and adhere to the one-China principle, adding any act that challenges or violates the UN resolutions will be condemned by the international community and is doomed to fail.

Speaking at the WHA meeting on Monday, Chen pointed out the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in the Taiwan region obstinately adhered to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence." "As a result, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in WHA has ceased to exist," he said.

The Chinese diplomat noted that the WHA has already reached a conclusion on the Taiwan-related issue, as the assembly has previously rejected proposals relating to the Taiwan region for five times since 2017.

Before the assembly, more than 90 countries have, through sending letters to the WHO, expressed their adherence to the one-China principle and their opposition to Taiwan's participation in the WHA, according to Chen.

At the press conference, the diplomat also said the Taiwan authorities' seeking "Taiwan independence" by soliciting external support is a dead end.

He pointed out that the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in an attempt to seek "Taiwan independence" in the name of expanding its "international space" have relied on a few Western countries and so-called diplomatic allies to make a breakthrough at the WHA.

Taiwan's future and hope lie in the peaceful development of cross-Strait relations and reunification with the mainland, not in counting on the empty promises of external forces, Chen stressed.

The claim of a "gap" in global anti-pandemic efforts is nothing but a DPP's despicable trick to "seek independence," which is a thoroughly false proposition and political lie, he said, noting China's Taiwan region has never been excluded from the global pandemic prevention system.

The Chinese Central Government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of compatriots in the Taiwan region, Chen said, adding the Central Government has made proper arrangements for Taiwan's participation in global health affairs on the precondition of following the one-China principle.

According to Chen, the Central Government has given the Taiwan region about 400 updates about the pandemic situation since the start of COVID-19 and approved 47 visits by public health experts from the Taiwan region to 44 WHO technical activities over the past year. There is an International Health Regulations Contact Point in the Taiwan region, so it can obtain timely information on global public health emergencies.

Chen also voiced strong condemnation of and firm opposition to the intention of certain countries to use Taiwan to contain China by speculating on Taiwan-related issues and advocating Taiwan-related proposals at the WHA.

He noted that the one-China principle is the prerequisite and basis for China to maintain and develop friendly relations with other countries around the world.

The diplomat urged some Western countries to abide by the one-China principle, stop interfering in China's internal affairs, stop planning attempts to "use Taiwan to contain China", and stop sending wrong signals to the "Taiwan independence" forces.

He also said the Taiwan authorities should not entertain being used as a card; adding such cards may eventually end up being useless or discarded.

The Chinese Foreign Ministry and the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council later on Monday responded to the WHA's decision.

The Foreign Ministry in a statement said that in defiance of the aspiration of all parties and the well-being of Taiwan compatriots, the DPP authorities obstinately instigated their so-called "diplomatic allies" to make Taiwan-related proposals.

"A handful of countries have connived at this move, which goes against the trend of history and is doomed to fail." 

The ministry urged the DPP authorities to drop its attempt of seeking "Taiwan independence" by taking advantage of the epidemic, which will end up nowhere, adding that certain countries should also stop politicizing the health issue and stop interfering in China's internal affairs by playing up the Taiwan question. 

"Otherwise, they are doomed to fail just like a man who lifts a rock only to drop it on his own feet," said the statement.

"The one-China principle is an international consensus which represents the trend of the times and the will of the people," Zhu Fenglian, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council responded, adding that any action that challenges the one-China principle is doomed to fail.

She noted that the DPP refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus that embodies the one-China principle, and obstinately adhered to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence" so that the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA has ceased to exist. "The current situation is caused solely by the DPP's side."

(Cover: Director-General of the WHO Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus addresses the 75th World Health Assembly at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, May 22, 2022. /Reuters)