May 18, 2018
No. 106
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs greatly appreciates the staunch support shown by the US Senate for Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and related issues.
On May 17, US Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL), a senior member of the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, issued a statement making public a joint letter he and 12 other ranking US Senators had sent to Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Secretary-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), urging WHO to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer in the upcoming 71st WHA. Cosigners included Senate Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-TX), Senate Taiwan Caucus Cochairs James Inhofe (R-OK) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), among others.
The letter signed by 13 US Senators follows on the May 15 House of Representatives joint letter, signed by a large number of representatives, voicing support for Taiwan’s participation in the WHA. The two letters bear testament to the importance that the US Congress puts on the health rights of the people of Taiwan and Taiwan’s contributions to global medical and health initiatives. (E)