EU urged to support Taiwan's WHO bid

Taiwan intends to call on the EU for help in its bid to join the WHO, parliament was told today.

A conference on Wednesday organised by the ALDE group heard from Bi-Khim Hsiao, a former parliamentarian, who called on the EU to be "more sympathetic" to her country’s wish to participate in organisations like the UN and WHO.

She said, "We are not asking for so much. It may be too much to expect the EU to drop its support of the One China policy.

"But we are asking the EU and its member states to look at where there might be room for a bit of movement without adversely affecting their relationship with China.

"This continued apartheid against Taiwan is totally unjustified and is in no one’s interests, least of all China.

"Taiwan will again shortly apply for membership of the WHO and we are looking to the EU to support us."

Taiwan will again bid for WHO observer status when the organisation’s decision-making body, the world health assembly, meets in Geneva next month.

The ALDE event is the fifth to be organised by the Council of Asian Liberals and Democrats. It aims to forge closer links with liberal-minded parties and bodies in Asia. It also attracted participants from Africa who were invited to take part.

ALDE group leader Graham Watson, who chaired the conference, said he hoped it would "forge closer cooperation" between Europe and Asia in tackling global issues.

These include climate change, which took up much of the debate on Wednesday.

On this, Watson told this website, "This will require a multinational approach and the question coming into this event was whether Asia could match the EU’s commitment.

"Having listened to various keynote speakers from the region, I am optimistic that the answer is that it can."

Hsiao also said that welcoming Taiwan into the international fold would help counter the "scourge" of human trafficking.

She told the one-day conference that Taiwan’s continued exclusion from the international community "seriously" hinders the fight against trafficking in human beings.

"The problem is that Taiwan’s exclusion from international organisations seriously hinders its efforts to play what should be an important role in tackling this problem.

"For example, Taiwan is a key destination in the region for victims of human trafficking, particularly from China.

"Many of these, mostly young, Chinese women are trafficked for sexual or labour market exploitation.

"But when Taiwan offers its support to Beijing to help combat this problem it is rejected outright. China tells us that it will deal with countries like the US and Japan, but not Taiwan.

"The reason, of course, is China’s ongoing dispute with Taiwan about sovereignty," said drafted key legislation aimed at combating human trafficking.

"This is absolutely ridiculous and is yet another example of how this policy continues to hinder Taiwan’s efforts to play a role in international affairs," added Hsiao, who now works who now works as director for international affairs for the Democratic Progressive Party in Taiwan.

"It is all very ironic because many of the trafficked women who end up in Taiwan are from China. If China would be prepared to cooperate with us a bit more in this field it would help reduce the number of Chinese women who fall prey to evil sexual and other predators."

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