mandag 18. mai 2020

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo slams ‘spiteful’ Taiwan exclusion from World Health Assembly

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has slammed the “spiteful” rejection of Taiwan to attend the World Health Organisation’s annual meeting as an observer, despite the island’s success in tackling Covid-19. Taiwan decided to postpone efforts to participate in the World Health Assembly (WHA), which started on Monday with a focus on the coronavirus pandemic, according to Taiwan’s foreign minister Joseph Wu.

Beijing has insisted that Taiwan be excluded from the platform and described the self-ruled island as its province. It added that the previous inclusion of Taiwan should not count as a precedent, as the current Taiwanese government no longer recognised the one-China principle. “The United States condemns Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Assembly,” Pompeo said in a statement, launching an attack on WHO director general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.