Proposal on Taiwan politically driven: China Daily editorial

Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party has tried time and again to gain recognition for the island as an "independent" entity by seeking to participate in World Health Assembly meetings as an observer. But recognition of the one-China principle is unshakable, and its attempts to falsely portray "one China, one Taiwan" in the world arena in this way have all met with failure.

This week's attempt being no exception. On Monday, the WHA turned down a proposal to invite Taiwan to the World Health Organization meeting.

As a United Nations agency, the WHO is composed of sovereign states, and Taiwan, as part of China, is not eligible to join. Hence, the island's participation in the assembly must be dealt with in accordance with the one-China principle.

From 2008 to 2016, Taiwan participated in the WHA as an observer under the name Chinese Taipei. But the island has been kept out of the assembly since 2017 since its leader Tsai Ing-wen of the pro-independence DPP took office in May 2016.

In fact it is the DPP that has blocked the island's road to WHA participation. Tsai and the DPP authorities clearly know for the island to return to the WHA they have first to recognize the 1992 Consensus on one China.

The insistence on floating the proposal at the WHA was not about protecting the health and welfare of the people in the region as claimed, but simply aimed at pursuing the DPP's independence will-o'-the-wisp by politicizing the international response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

As there is an International Health Regulations Contact Point for the island, information exchanges between the island and WHO and other entities are complete and unimpeded. Not to mention that medical and health experts from Taiwan have taken part in the WHO's technical activities under the one-China principle.

And as China's Foreign Ministry has repeatedly pointed out, the central government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of Taiwan compatriots, and the island's health authorities have been constantly kept up to date with the latest information on epidemic prevention and control.

In January, the Chinese central government hosted Taiwan epidemic prevention and control experts who traveled to Wuhan, capital of Hubei province, to observe firsthand its novel coronavirus containment efforts.

Therefore, by trying to hijack the WHA, the DPP is endangering the global efforts to fight the virus. It should face reality and stop using the pandemic as an excuse for its political maneuvering.

That the WHA has rejected such Taiwan-related proposals for many consecutive years should drive home the message that the international community rightly upholds the one-China principle.