US state department condemns Taiwan’s exclusion from World Health Assembly

An official statement issued by the state department on Monday suggested that the WHO should stay clear of politics while lives are at stake "...we need multilateral institutions to deliver on their stated missions and to serve the interests of all member states, not to play politics while lives are at stake."

The statement said that Taiwan was not invited to the Assembly due to Chinese pressure and this decision harms WHO's credibility "WHO’s Director-General Tedros had every legal power and precedent to include Taiwan in WHA’s proceedings. Yet, he instead chose not to invite Taiwan under pressure from the People’s Republic of China (PRC). The Director-General’s lack of independence deprives the Assembly of Taiwan’s renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO’s credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most."

The State department felt that Taiwan, which has been one of the most successful countries in controlling the Covid-19 pandemic and with its overall scientific expertise in pandemic diseases, had valuable insights to share at the world assembly.

The communique also took a dig at China for its alleged lack of transparency.

"No one disputes that Taiwan has mounted one of the world’s most successful efforts to contain the pandemic to date, despite its close proximity to the original outbreak in Wuhan, China. This should not be a surprise. Transparent, vibrant, and innovative democracies like Taiwan always respond faster and more effectively to pandemics than do authoritarian regimes."