Times of India: Plug The Gap: Leaving Taiwan out of global health framework is unacceptable
Rudroneel Ghosh, journalist at the Times of India

“…[S]tonewalling Taiwan’s participation in the [World Health Assembly (WHA)] is not a Chinese issue — it is an international issue. What’s at stake is the international health system of which every country and territory is a part. After all, diseases and epidemics do not recognize borders. Leaving Taiwan out of the WHA leaves a gaping hole in the global response health mechanism. Besides, Taiwan has been a net contributor to global health. … It has made significant contributions towards raising health standards in countries such as Paraguay and Belize. And Taiwan’s expertise in things like medical data systems can truly benefit developing nations. For all these reasons and more, Taiwan needs to be part of the formal global health architecture. … [I]f China is keen on establishing itself as a premier power and influencing global architecture, then it needs to earn the trust of the international community. And trust is something that can’t solely be earned through making investments in [developing] countries. Beijing has to demonstrate that it can be a responsible, accommodative, and reasonable power. Sacrificing global health at the altar of politics is not the way to go” (1/25).