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Letter of Protest from Chinese Medical Association against World Medical Association's Request for Urging WHO to Open Doors to Taiwan

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Dear Dr. Frank Ulrich Montgomery and Dr. Otmar Kloiber,

We have noted the news on the WMA's website entitled "WMA urges World Health Organization to open its doors to Taiwan". As a the constituent member of the WMA, Chinese Medical Association would like to share our views and positions to this issue.

From the legal standpoint, WMA should not confuse the Ukraine issue with Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly. Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, whether it should or has the right to participate in the WHO has no relations to Russia-Ukraine conflicts. The WHO is an organization that can only be participated by sovereign states and it is different from the WMA, a non-governmental organization. Therefore, qualifications for participation in WHO and WMA should not be confused. No part of a sovereign state is eligible to participate in the WHO or become a party to the International Health Regulations in its own name, especially as a sovereign state.

There is only one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China, and the people in Taiwan are an inseparable part of the Chinese people. The One-China principle is universally recognized in the international community. As a specialized agency of the United Nations, WHO deals with the participation of Taiwan, China in the affairs of WHO, including matters related to the IHR, in accordance with the One-China principle, which is a fundamental principle established by the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution 2758 and the World Health Assembly (WHA) Resolution 25.1. To ensure the right to health of the people in Taiwan region, the Chinese Government has, within the One-China framework, found ways to enable the Taiwan region to participate in the activities of the World Health Organization in an appropriate manner. It is the Taiwan authorities after the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) took power that have turned their backs on the One-China principle and attempted to violate the principles of international law by seeking Taiwan's participation in the activities of the WHO as a sovereign state or by reference to a sovereign state. Therefore, the inability of the Taiwan region to participate as an observer in the activities of the World Health Organization was caused by the Taiwan authorities, not by mainland China.

From the factual perspective, it’s not real that Taiwan Medical Association's claim about lacking access to the WHO, as the Chinese Government has made appropriate arrangements for the Taiwan region of China to be part of global health affairs. The Taiwan region of China faces no barrier to participating in global health affairs, including the WHO technical activities and access to information. And the so-called "gap in global anti-epidemic efforts" is purely fictional. The CMA has provided WMA with information on the participation of medical technical experts from the Taiwan region of China in WHO activities, both in writing and presentations at meetings.

In a friendly and sincere manner, as a national medical association representing nearly ten million of medical professionals in China, we once again urge the World Medical Association to respect the fact of one China and maintain its independence as an international non-governmental organization.


Sincerely,

Chinese Medical Association


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