Dear Dr. Chen,
We are writing you as members of the European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group, we are dismayed at the recent revelation that the World Health Organization refers in its internal documents to Taiwan as being a province of China.
No United Nations specialised agency has the right unilaterally to decide on the status in international law of any given country or territory. As you well know, UN agencies and their staff are required to remain impartial and not to take instructions from or show favour to any national government.We wish to remind you that neither UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 nor World Health Assembly Resolution 25.1 make any reference to Taiwan's status in international law or its status vis-à-vis the People's Republic of China. The WHO's explicit reference to Taiwan as a province of China has no basis in international law. “It is therefore hard to avoid the conclusion that the People's Republic of China has deliberately sought to compromise the independence and impartiality of the WHO for its own political purposes.
As Director-General of WHO, you are responsible for the internal policy of referring to Taiwan as a province of China. “You are also a citizen of, and were nominated for your post by, the People's Republic of China. WHO's continued insistence on referring to Taiwan as a province of China therefore not only undermines the organisation's credibility but risks calling into question your personal impartiality and integrity.
We believe the WHO's position on Taiwan is politically and morally flawed. “We urge you to change WHO's internal procedures to refer to Taiwan as 'Chinese Taipei', the accepted nomenclature that Taiwan uses in other international organisations and structures.
Finally, we believe that Taiwan, with its excellent healthcare sector and world-class doctors, has much to contribute to the WHO. Mindful of the Council of the European Union's declaration of support in September 2008 for Taiwan's meaningful participation in international organisations, we urge you to ensure that Taiwan is enabled to play such a role within the WHO. Healthcare is a basic human right and should never be exploited as a political pawn.
We look forward to your response.
Yours sincerely,
Dr. Charles Tannock, MEP
ECR Group
Chairman,
European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group
Dr. Laima Liucija Andrikiene MEP
EPP Group
Board Member,
European Parliament-Taiwan Friendship Group
Gabriele Albertini MEP,
EPP Group
Chairman,
Committee on Foreign Affairs
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