Media Contact 202-226-8467

 

 

 

 

 

By Rep. Michael McCaul 

The Hill

May 23, 2023

This week, delegates from World Health Organization (WHO) member states will gather in Geneva for the annual World Health Assembly (WHA) — and once again, this key meeting on global health priorities will exclude Taiwan. It is unconscionable, especially after the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) coverup of the COVID-19 pandemic, that the WHO is once again caving to pressure from the CCP to silence Taiwan in this important venue. As the world works to avoid future pandemics, there has never been a more important time to learn from Taiwan’s global health expertise. 

Taiwan previously participated as an observer at the WHA from 2009 to 2016, but since President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in Taiwan, the CCP has pressured the WHO to exclude Taiwan merely because the CCP dislikes her party. The CCP is shutting out the unique, valuable views of 23 million Taiwanese citizens at the WHO because it is an insecure regime that values control more than health.  

The CCP’s disregard for the rest of the international community was made blatantly obvious in its coverup of COVID-19 origins. My report on the origins of COVID-19 found that the CCP actively engaged in a full-scale coverup designed to hide public health information, obfuscate data, and silence anyone who tried to warn the world of the impending crisis. The CCP’s influence over the WHO was also apparent during the pandemic’s early stages, when WHO leadership parroted CCP talking points and failed to hold the CCP accountable for obscuring the truth.

The full text of the opinion editorial can be found here. 

###