World Health Assembly rejection of Taiwan as observer underscores one-China principle

The World Health Assembly' s rejection to discuss the proposal of inviting  Taiwan as an observer to the assembly showed that the attempt to realize "Taiwan independence" will never succeed, a mainland spokesperson said on Tuesday.

It also showed that the one-China principle is the consensus of the international community, said Ma Xiaoguang, spokesman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office.

The island's ruling Democratic Progress Party has itself to blame for Taiwan's being unable to participate in the assembly for four consecutive years, he said.

The DPP interferes with the process of the WHA and destroys international cooperation in epidemic prevention, fully exposing the true face of the DPP that its political gain is superior to public health security, Ma said.

He warned DPP authorities not to go further on the wrong path. 

"Any act challenging the one-China principle will inevitably end in failure," he added.

The DPP had been soliciting support for Taiwan's participation in this year's WHA, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization that is scheduled to meet from Monday to Tuesday, by claiming there will be a "gap" in global anti-epidemic efforts if Taiwan is not able to participate.

Some countries, including the United States, had also been asking the WHO to invite Taiwan as an observer to the assembly and pushing for WHA discussion of this proposal.

The political foundation for Taiwan to attend WHA no longer exists as the DPP refused to recognize the one-China principle, according to Ma.

"We are always concerned about the health and well-being of the compatriots in the island," Ma said.

As of May 18, the mainland has sent 155 notifications on COVID-19 to the island, official data show.

Since 2019, under the one-China principle, 24 Taiwan experts in 16 groups have participated in WHO technical activities, according to Ma.