S. 243

One Hundred Eighth Congress

of the

United States of America

AT THE FIRST SESSION

Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,

the seventh day of January, two thousand and three

An Act

Concerning participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of

the United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE

WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO).

(a) FINDINGS.—The Congress makes the following findings:

(1) Good health is important to every citizen of the world

and access to the highest standards of health information and

services is necessary to improve the public health.

(2) Direct and unobstructed participation in international

health cooperation forums and programs is beneficial for all

parts of the world, especially with today’s greater potential

for the cross-border spread of various infectious diseases such

as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and

malaria.

(3) Taiwan’s population of 23,500,000 people is greater

than that of three-fourths of the member states already in

the World Health Organization (WHO).

(4) Taiwan’s achievements in the field of health are

substantial, including one of the highest life expectancy levels

in Asia, maternal and infant mortality rates comparable to

those of western countries, the eradication of such infectious

diseases as cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and the first

to eradicate polio and provide children with hepatitis B vaccinations.

(5) The United States Centers for Disease Control and

Prevention and its Taiwan counterpart agencies have enjoyed

close collaboration on a wide range of public health issues.

(6) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a willingness

to assist financially and technically in international aid and

health activities supported by the WHO.

(7) On January 14, 2001, an earthquake, registering

between 7.6 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, struck El Salvador.

In response, the Taiwanese Government sent 2 rescue teams,

consisting of 90 individuals specializing in firefighting, medicine, and civil engineering. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign

Affairs also donated $200,000 in relief aid to the Salvadoran

Government.
S. 243—2

(8) The World Health Assembly has allowed observers to

participate in the activities of the organization, including the

Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974, the Order of Malta,

and the Holy See in the early 1950s.

(9) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review,

declared its intention to support Taiwan’s participation in

appropriate international organizations.

(10) Public Law 106–137 required the Secretary of State

to submit a report to the Congress on efforts by the executive

branch to support Taiwan’s participation in international

organizations, in particular the WHO.

(11) In light of all benefits that Taiwan’s participation

in the WHO can bring to the state of health not only in

Taiwan, but also regionally and globally, Taiwan and its

23,500,000 people should have appropriate and meaningful

participation in the WHO.

(12) On May 11, 2001, President Bush stated in his letter

to Senator Murkowski that the United States ‘‘should find

opportunities for Taiwan’s voice to be heard in international

organizations in order to make a contribution, even if membership is not possible’’, further stating that his Administration

‘‘has focused on finding concrete ways for Taiwan to benefit

and contribute to the WHO’’.

(13) In his speech made in the World Medical Association

on May 14, 2002, Secretary of Health and Human Services

Tommy Thompson announced ‘‘America’s work for a healthy

world cuts across political lines. That is why my government

supports Taiwan’s efforts to gain observership status at the

World Health Assembly. We know this is a controversial issue,

but we do not shrink from taking a public stance on it. The

people of Taiwan deserve the same level of public health as

citizens of every nation on earth, and we support them in

their efforts to achieve it’’.

(14) The Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan,

in response to an appeal from the United Nations and the

United States for resources to control the spread of HIV/AIDS,

donated $1,000,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in December 2002.

(b) PLAN.—The Secretary of State is authorized—

(1) to initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain

observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit

of the World Health Assembly in May 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland; and

(2) to instruct the United States delegation to Geneva

to implement that plan.
S. 243—3

(c) REPORT.—Not later than 14 days after the date of the

enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report

to Congress in unclassified form describing the action taken under

subsection (b).

Speaker of the House of Representatives.

Vice President of the United States and

President of the Senate.