Mike Pompeo leans on other nations to support Taiwan''s WHA bid

Описание: With less than two weeks to go until the World Health Assembly convenes online, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo held a press conference, calling on all nations to support Taiwan. In an escalation of rhetoric, he put particular pressure on European nations to nail their colors to the mast. China countered with claims that it makes appropriate arrangements for Taiwan, provoking an outcry from Taiwan''s foreign ministry. WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has refused to comment.

The online World Health Assembly opens next week. U.S. Secretary of State Pompeo is leaning on U.S. allies to lend their support to Taiwan.

Mike Pompeo
US Secretary of State
Today I want to call upon all nations, including those in Europe, to support Taiwan''s participation as an observer. I also call upon WHO Director-general Tedros to observe this month''s WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions.

Joanne Ou
Foreign ministry spokeswoman
Secretary of State Pompeo particularly pointed out that Director-General Tedros has the authority to invite to Taiwan to join the WHA. Here in the foreign ministry we are extremely grateful to Mr. Pompeo for personally expressing public support for Taiwan''s inclusion in international organizations. We feel extremely encouraged by positive developments like this, as well as our widespread support among the international community.

The foreign ministry promptly thanked the U.S. for its strong statement of support. The challenge to Tedros led a U.S. reporter to ask him about it, but he dodged the question, asking a WHO legal counsel to comment instead.

Voice of Lukas Alpert
Wall Street Journal reporter
Would you encourage the member states, particularly China, to allow Taiwan to attend as an observer this year? Conversely, I understand you have the authority to invite them yourself, would you do that if China continues to resist their participation?

Derek Walton
WHO legal counsel
…any observers from "Taiwan, China" in that assembly, is a question for the 194 member governments of the WHO. It''s their decision.

Legal counsel Derek Walton repeated the official line, ignoring any question of how Tedros could use his own personal authority or that of the WHO itself.

China''s foreign ministry responded to Pompeo''s statement by claiming, without evidence, that Beijing had made appropriate arrangements for Taiwan to participate in global health agencies. They went on to attack Taiwan.

Hua Chunying
Chinese foreign ministry spokeswoman
Taiwan''s DPP regime is playing political games, continuously hyping up the issue of Taiwan''s attendance at the WHO and WHA. Their real goal is extremely clear: using the pandemic to make a bid for independence.

Joanne Ou
Foreign ministry spokeswoman
The statement by China''s foreign ministry was of course a pack of lies with no regard for the facts. China has no authority to represent the people of Taiwan in the international community. The affairs of the Taiwanese people are handled appropriately by our democratically-elected government. We do not need any sham arrangements from imposters in China.

With less than two weeks to go until the WHA convenes, calls for Taiwan''s inclusion are growing louder, but with the director-general set in his stance behind Beijing, Taiwan will need more support to succeed.