For Immediate Release
Washington DC – May 5, 2017
Contact: (202) 547-3686
U.S. Representative Urges Secretary Of HHS Tom Price To Help Taiwan Join The World Health Assembly And Visit Taiwan
In a letter to Secretary of Health and Human Services Tom Price dated May 5, former chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee U.S. Representative Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, requests Secretary Price’s assistance in “ensuring that Taiwan receives an invitation from WHO to join this month’s WHA and encourage you to visit Taiwan in the near future to discuss opportunities to collaborate, to our mutual benefit, on public health protection measures.”
The Congresswoman writes: “Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO) threatens the international community’s full access to Taiwan’s high quality health care information. Due to its superb talent, data collection, and quarantine and treatment facilities, Taiwan has excellent infectious disease control capabilities. Its valuable information and
cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was crucial in stemming the spread of SARS 14 years ago….Taiwan’s cooperation with the WHO is crucial to helping global health services effectively battle these and other diseases.”
She continues, “As was the case with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last year, it is likely that Taiwan will be blocked from receiving an invitation to the WHA summit. In a dangerous and shortsighted effort to constrain Taiwan, China hinders Taiwan’s participation in many international organizations, including ICAO, WHO, and INTERPOL. Taiwan’s meaningful participation in WHO is not only in the interest of Taiwan but is of critical importance to our own health care system and capability of fighting infectious diseases.”
FAPA started campaigning for WHO membership for Taiwan as early as in 1997. The campaign culminated in Taiwan’s eventual participation in the WHA in 2009. But with China ending an unofficial “diplomatic truce” with Taiwan in early 2016, Taiwan’s participation in annual meetings of UN affiliated organizations such as the WHO, ICAO and Interpol has become more and more challenging.
FAPA President Peter Chen states: “By blocking Taiwan from joining the WHO as a member and even by blocking Taiwan’s attendance to the annual weeklong WHO summit, China plays politics with the lives of the people of Taiwan. With annual outbreaks in Taiwan of misc. enteroviruses, with birdflu now again rearing its ugly head in Taiwan and with a SARS epidemic in the past, it is simply unconscionable that China continues to block Taiwan and its 23 million peace loving people from the WHO!”
美國眾議員敦促衛服部長協助台灣參加世界衛生大會，並鼓勵他找機會親自拜會台灣
在5月5號，前眾院外交委員會主席蘿絲蕾提娜議員給美國衛生部長的信中，要求部長協助確保台灣能收到邀請函，參加這個月在日內瓦的世界衛生大會，並鼓勵他在近期內可以拜會台灣，討論台美雙邊對公共衛生領域的一些合作機會。
蘿絲蕾婷娜議員寫道：台灣被拒絕在世界衛生大會門外，是嚴重威脅到國際分享台灣高品質醫療系統和資源。台灣有完整資料系統、防疫和治療設施、對疾病控制能力的種種優勢。尤其是十四年前，台灣與美國疾病管制局的合作，有效遏止SARS的傳播，是一個難得的經驗和資訊，如果台灣能和世界衛生組織合作將幫忙全球許多疾病防疫有莫大的幫助。
她接著說：依去年的經驗，台灣沒有辦法參加世界飛航組織，今年台灣很有可能沒有辦法收到世界衛生大會的邀請函。中國施壓讓台灣沒有辦法參加許多國際組織，如世界飛航組織、刑警組織和衛生大會，是非常危險和短視的行為。台灣能實質參加世界衛生組織，不但有利於台灣本身，而且對全球醫療系統和預防疾病有實質的重要性。
台灣人公共事務會(FAPA)早在1997年便開始為台灣參加世衛組織而努力，在2009年有見功效，故台灣參與該年的世界衛生大會。但隨著中國在2016年初起與台灣結束非正式的「外交休兵」，台灣參加聯合國附隨組織的年度會議，例如世界衛生組織，國際民航組織和國際刑警組織等，則變得越來越具有挑戰性。
FAPA會長陳正義表示：「試圖阻止台灣加入世界衛生組織，甚至阻擋台灣出席每年一度的世界衛生大會，再再顯現出中國玩弄政治，枉顧在台灣人民健康。台灣爆發型的腸病毒與現在禽流感再次，或觀過去出現SARS疫情，中國遏制台灣及二千三百萬人民參加世界衛生組織是不合情理的！
Rep. Ros-Lehtinen’s Letter
May 5, 2017
The Honorable Tom Price
Secretary of Health and Human Services
Washington, DC 20201Dear Mr. Secretary:
I am writing to request your assistance in securing Taiwan’s participation at the World Health Assembly (WHA) summit to be held in Geneva from May 22 to May 31.
Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization (WHO) threatens the international community’s full access to Taiwan’s high quality health care information. Due to its superb talent, data collection, and quarantine and treatment facilities, Taiwan has excellent infectious disease control capabilities. Its valuable information and cooperation with the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was crucial in stemming the spread of SARS 14 years ago. In February, the CDC confirmed Taiwan’s first human fatality from the H7N9 avian flu virus after earlier positive tests for a highly pathogenic avian flu virus strain. Taiwan’s cooperation with the WHO is crucial to helping global health services effectively battle these and other diseases.
As was the case with the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) last year, it is likely that Taiwan will be blocked from receiving an invitation to the WHA summit. In a dangerous and shortsighted effort to constrain Taiwan, China hinders Taiwan’s participation in many international organizations, including ICAO, WHO, and INTERPOL. Taiwan’s meaningful participation in WHO is not only in the interest of Taiwan but is of critical importance to our own health care system and capability of fighting infectious diseases. I respectfully request your assistance in ensuring that Taiwan receives an invitation from WHO to join this month’s WHA and encourage you to visit Taiwan in the near future to discuss opportunities to collaborate, to our mutual benefit, on public health protection measures.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely
ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN
Member of Congress
