(L-R) Sen. Michael MacDonald, Taiwan Representative Harry Ho Jen Tseng, Liberal MP Judy Sgro, and Conservative MP Michael Cooper at the Taiwan National Day celebration at the Chateau Laurier hotel in Ottawa on Oct. 5, 2022. (Limin Zhou/NTDTV))
By Limin Zhou
The Canadian House of Commons passed a motion that supports Taiwan’s bid to join the World Health Organization （WHO）ahead of the island’s national day this year.
The unanimously passed motion concurs with the health committee’s recommendation to endorse Taiwan’s full participation of WHO and World Health Assembly (WHA). WHA is the governing body of WHO.
“It is in the interest of global public health to have Taiwan’s full participation in the WHO and WHA,” said conservative MP Michael Cooper, during his speech at the Taiwanese National Day celebration in Ottawa on October 5th, the same day after the motion was carried.
“We must double our effort to support Taiwan’s full participation throughout the UN system, including ICAO, INTERPOL and other muti-lateral forums,” said Cooper, “It is disappointing that as the 41st ICAO convenes in Montreal as we speak, Taiwan is yet again wrongly excluded.”
Taiwan is now shut out of all United National affiliated international forums over the objections of the Chinese Communist Party, including WHO, WHA, ICAO, and INTERPOL, though Taiwan participated in the WHO as an observer from 2009 to 2016.
Cooper said that there is no legitimate reason for Taiwan’s exclusion from this international health forum.
“There is only one reason and one reason alone for Taiwan’s exclusion, and that is politics by the Chinese Communist regime to deny Taiwan its rightful seat at the table since 2017,” said Cooper during the debate at the House of Common on May 16, “This is part of a broader campaign of aggression being perpetrated by the Chinese Communist regime to delegitimize and isolate our democratic ally Taiwan.”
Conservative MP and Sponsor of the motion Michael Barrett speaks at the House of Commons (ParlVU, screen shot)
Taiwan has received more support to participate in the WHO in the wake of its success at fighting COVID-19.
When Taiwan’s disease surveillance systems picked up on COVID in December 2019, it “advised the world about the person-to-person transmission of the COVID-19 virus at the end of 2019, …, while the Communist Party of China was saying the opposite,” Conservative MP and sponsor of the motion, Michael Barrett told the Commons during the aforementioned debate on the motion.
“We could have all benefited from that information.”