The Xi Jinping regime confirmed that it will not allow Taiwan's participation in the upcoming World Health Assembly, the main annual meeting of the World Health Organization (WHO), deepening a new diplomatic dispute between Beijing and Taipei.
The spokesperson for the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian, stated that Taiwan's participation in international organizations must strictly adhere to the principle of "one China," a position that holds that the island is part of Chinese territory and cannot act as an independent state.
The spokesperson of the Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Lin Jian
The World Health Assembly, which will be held this month in Geneva, brings together health ministers and representatives from various countries each year to discuss global public health policies. Taiwan participated as an observer from 2009 to 2016, during a period of more stable relations between Beijing and Taipei, but since then China has systematically blocked its presence.
Taiwanese authorities criticized the Chinese decision and accused Xi Jinping of using international health issues for political purposes. The Taiwanese government argues that its exclusion harms global cooperation in areas such as pandemic prevention, medical information exchange, and emergency health response.
In recent years, various Western countries, mainly Japan and the United States, have publicly supported Taiwan's participation in international organizations related to health, aviation, and trade. The Trump administration recently renewed its call for the island to be allowed to attend the World Health Assembly as an observer.
Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te alongside Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi
The tension also occurs amid a growing deterioration of relations between China and Taiwan. Beijing has increased its military exercises around the island over the past year and has hardened its diplomatic stance towards the Taiwanese government led by William Lai.
China considers Taiwan a separatist province and maintains that it must eventually come under Beijing's control, even through the use of force if necessary. Taiwan, for its part, has maintained an autonomous government since 1949 and effectively operates as an independent state, although with limited diplomatic recognition.
The exclusion of Taiwan from the World Health Assembly once again shows how the dispute between Beijing and Taipei continues to spill over into international organizations and multilateral forums, in a context of increasing political and geopolitical tension in Asia.
