Hoping for invitation to WHO meeting, Taiwan gathers more support

Taiwan said it still hoped to be invited to the World Health Organization’s annual assembly opening in Geneva on Sunday, as support for its participation was growing despite China’s efforts to isolate the democratically governed island.
Foreign Minister Joseph Wu noted several diplomatic allies and friendly countries had issued statements of support for Taiwan’s participation, or arranged bilateral meetings on the sidelines of the WHO assembly, set to run from May 21-30.
Taiwan is excluded from most international organizations due to objections by China, which considers the island its own despite Taiwan’s claims that it is an independent country.
After China began blocking Taiwan’s World Health Assembly (WHA) participation in 2017, the island started a diplomatic campaign to join the annual meeting as an observer.