Int'l community widely supports China's objection to Taiwan participation in WHA: spokesperson

BEIJING, May 24 (Xinhua) -- China has objected to the Taiwan region's participation in the upcoming World Health Assembly (WHA) and this decision has been widely understood and supported by the international community, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said on Friday.

Noting that there is but one China in the world, Taiwan is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China, Wang said China's position on the Taiwan region's participation in the activities of international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO), is consistent and clear.

"That is, the issue must be handled under the one-China principle, which is also a fundamental principle endorsed in the UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1," Wang told a press briefing.

He pointed out that from 2009 to 2016, due to the fact that both sides of the Taiwan Strait adhered to the one-China principle, China made special arrangements for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA for eight consecutive years.

However, after the Democratic Progressive Party came to power in Taiwan in 2016, it has refused to recognize the 1992 Consensus, which embodies the one-China principle, and has stubbornly stuck to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence."

"This means the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA no longer exists," Wang said.

In order to safeguard the one-China principle and the seriousness and authority of the relevant resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the WHA, China decided not to agree to the Taiwan region's participation in this year's WHA, which has been widely understood and supported by the international community, the spokesperson said.

He added that for some time, the vast majority of countries have reaffirmed their commitment to UNGA Resolution 2758 and the one-China principle, and opposed the Taiwan region's participation in the WHA.

More than 100 countries have supported China's position by sending letters to the Director-General of the WHO, he said.

This once again shows that the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends, and it also fully reflects that the vast majority of countries uphold a just position on Taiwan-related issues at the WHA, Wang said.

Any attempt to violate the one-China principle and engage in political manipulation by playing the "Taiwan card" is doomed to failure, he said.