The World Health Assembly (WHA) is about to be held in May, and Taiwan has been unable to successfully join the WHO due to China’s suppression for many years. In response, the “Taiwan-Swedish Parliamentarians Association” held a seminar on Taiwan’s participation in the WHO on the 24th. Representative to Sweden Gu Ruisheng and others were invited to attend the speech. In his speech, Gu Ruisheng also called on all walks of life to support Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Organization (WHO).
The seminar was held at the Swedish Parliament on the 24th and was chaired by Boriana Åberg, Chairman of the Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentary Association (STPA). Representative to Sweden Gu Ruisheng, Member of Parliament and Swedish Foreign Affairs Council Joar Forssell, spokesperson of the Liberal Party, Birger Forsberg, health commissioner and public health professor of the Åland autonomous region in Finland, and Henrik, political editor of Sweden’s “NWT” Lars Barvå and other Swedish Taiwanese friends were invited to attend.
The seminar attracted members of parliament from four major Swedish political parties and relevant administrative staff. At the same time, the speakers came from various fields, so they interpreted Taiwan’s inability to join the WHO from different perspectives. However, the participating members of Congress all shared the same feelings about Taiwan’s inability to join the WHO due to China’s political interference for many years. The seminar also discussed issues such as Taiwan’s historical participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the WHA’s operating mechanism, and whether Taiwan’s membership case has been resolved, showing that Swedish members of parliament pay close attention to and support Taiwan’s participation in the WHO.
O’Berry, chairman of the “Taiwanese and Swedish Parliamentarians Association”, said that the WHO needs Taiwan far more than Taiwan needs the WHO, and strongly supports Taiwan’s participation in the WHO; Swedish Foreign Affairs Council member Fösser explained authoritarian countries such as Russia and China from a geopolitical perspective The threat to the democratic camp is also increasing day by day. Sweden and other EU countries should clearly express their support for Taiwan’s participation in international organizations such as the WHO to demonstrate their emphasis on human rights and their support for countries with similar ideals.
Gu Ruisheng, my representative in Sweden, also gave a speech titled “Human health and well-being transcends politics”, saying that the WHO charter clearly states that human beings’ enjoyment of health and well-being should not be affected by politics, race, religion and other factors. However, although the international community has experienced COVID-19 19 is raging, but the WHO still excludes Taiwan from the WHO for political reasons, making it impossible for Taiwan to provide virus surveillance information to other countries through the WHO Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS). In addition, Taiwan cannot be included in the Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN) and has therefore been excluded from the WHO epidemic agreement negotiations. Gu Ruisheng also used Taiwan’s COVID-19 epidemic prevention experience as an example to show that Taiwan can also provide substantial assistance to the international health system. At the same time, he also thanked the EU and Sweden for their long-term support for Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the WHO case, and called for continued support for this case this year. speak out.
The “Taiwan-Swedish Parliamentarians Association” is a Taiwan-friendly group of the Swedish Parliament. It is also one of the most active foreign friendship groups of the Swedish Parliament. It is composed of several Swedish parliamentarians. Sweden’s Taiwan-friendly members of parliament raised 22 Taiwan-friendly questions and 12 Taiwan-friendly motions in 2023 on strengthening bilateral relations between Taiwan and Sweden and Taiwan’s participation in international organizations. In the near future, they will also form a delegation to Taiwan to attend the inauguration ceremony of the 16th President and Vice President of the Republic of China, demonstrating the firm and friendly relations between Taiwan and Sweden.
