WHO membership: the plight of Taiwan

WHO membership: the plight of Taiwan

“…Professor Vivienne Nathanson, of the British Medical Association, has argued that it is ''desirable for the medical profession in Taiwan to enjoy the advantages offered by links with the WHO, and we should therefore certainly support its application for observer status''. 1 Likewise, prominent parliamentarians such as Tom Cox MP, of the all-party British-Taiwanese group in the House of Commons, have strongly condemned Taiwan's exclusion.…”

“…Mr Duffy has rightly argued for the morality of inclusion that health to all is a basic human right as advanced in the WHO Charter. 1 The WHO's position in denying Taiwan a legitimate role and opportunities to benefit from, as well as contribute to, the world health community is against the WHO constitution and is damaging to the health, welfare, and human rights of the 23 million Taiwanese people and, of course, to those elsewhere in the world who would benefit from the full participation of Taiwan in the WHO. As Buchanan has indicated, ''The more fundamental and pervasive a cooperative framework is in a society, the more debilitating it is for an individual if he or she cannot participate effectively in it''.…”