II 

Calendar No. 492 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2092 

To address the participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 12, 2004 

Mr. ALLEN (for himself, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. JOHNSON, Mr. KYL, Mr. 

LIEBERMAN, Mr. LOTT, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. VOINOVICH, Ms. COLLINS, Mr. 

CRAPO, Mr. BOND, Mr. SESSIONS, Mr. CHAMBLISS, and Mr. FEINGOLD) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

APRIL 29, 2004 

Reported by Mr. LUGAR, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To address the participation of Taiwan in the World Health 

Organization. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN 

4 IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. 

5 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find6 ings: 
2 

•S 2092 RS 

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

2 the world and access to the highest standards of 

3 health information and services is necessary to im4 prove the public health. 

5 (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in 

6 international health cooperation forums and pro7 grams is beneficial for all parts of the world, espe8 cially today with the great potential for the cross9 border spread of various infectious diseases such as 

10 the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuber11 culosis, and malaria. 

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

greater than that of 3 13 ⁄4 of the member states already 

14 in the World Health Organization (WHO). 

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

16 are substantial, including— 

17 (A) attaining— 

18 (i) 1 of the highest life expectancy lev19 els in Asia; and 

20 (ii) maternal and infant mortality 

21 rates comparable to those of western coun22 tries; 

23 (B) eradicating such infectious diseases as 

24 cholera, smallpox, the plague, and polio; and 
3 

•S 2092 RS 

1 (C) providing children with hepatitis B 

2 vaccinations. 

3 (5) The United States Centers for Disease Con4 trol and Prevention and its counterpart agencies in 

5 Taiwan have enjoyed close collaboration on a wide 

6 range of public health issues. 

7 (6) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a will8 ingness to assist financially and technically in inter9 national aid and health activities supported by the 

10 WHO. 

11 (7) On January 14, 2001, an earthquake, reg12 istering between 7.6 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, 

13 struck El Salvador. In response, the Taiwanese Gov14 ernment sent 2 rescue teams, consisting of 90 indi15 viduals specializing in firefighting, medicine, and 

16 civil engineering. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign 

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

18 Salvadoran Government. 

19 (8) The World Health Assembly has allowed ob20 servers to participate in the activities of the organi21 zation, including the Palestine Liberation Organiza22 tion in 1974, the Order of Malta, and the Holy See 

23 in the early 1950’s. 

24 (9) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Pol25 icy Review, declared its intention to support Tai-
4 

•S 2092 RS 

1 wan’s participation in appropriate international or2 ganizations. 

3 (10) Public Law 106–137 required the Sec4 retary of State to submit a report to Congress on ef5 forts by the executive branch to support Taiwan’s 

6 participation in international organizations, in par7 ticular the WHO. 

8 (11) In light of all benefits that Taiwan’s par9 ticipation in the WHO can bring to the state of 

10 health not only in Taiwan, but also regionally and 

11 globally, Taiwan and its 23,500,000 people should 

12 have appropriate and meaningful participation in the 

13 WHO. 

14 (12) On May 11, 2001, President Bush stated 

15 in a letter to Senator Murkowski that the United 

16 States ‘‘should find opportunities for Taiwan’s voice 

17 to be heard in international organizations in order to 

18 make a contribution, even if membership is not pos19 sible’’, further stating that the administration ‘‘has 

20 focused on finding concrete ways for Taiwan to ben21 efit and contribute to the WHO’’. 

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

23 Association on May 14, 2002, Secretary of Health 

24 and Human Services, Tommy Thompson, announced 

25 ‘‘America’s work for a healthy world cuts across po-
5 

•S 2092 RS 

1 litical lines. That is why my government supports 

2 Taiwan’s efforts to gain observership status at the 

3 World Health Assembly. We know this is a con4 troversial issue, but we do not shrink from taking a 

5 public stance on it. The people of Taiwan deserve 

6 the same level of public health as citizens of every 

7 nation on earth, and we support them in their ef8 forts to achieve it’’. 

9 (14) The Government of the Republic of China 

10 on Taiwan, in response to an appeal from the 

11 United Nations and the United States for resources 

12 to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, donated 

13 $1,000,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tu14 berculosis and Malaria in December 2002. 

15 (15) In 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute 

16 Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused 73 deaths in 

17 Taiwan. 

18 (16) Avian influenza, commonly known as bird 

19 flu, has reemerged in Asia with strains of the influ20 enza reported by the People’s Republic of China, 

21 Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, South 

22 Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. 

23 (17) The SARS and avian influenza outbreaks 

24 illustrate that disease knows no boundaries and em-
6 

•S 2092 RS 

1 phasize the importance of allowing all people access 

2 to the WHO. 

3 (18) As the pace of globalization quickens and 

4 the spread of infectious disease accelerates, it is cru5 cial that all people, including the people of Taiwan, 

6 be given the opportunity to participate in inter7 national health organizations such as the WHO. 

8 (19) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv9 ices acknowledged during the 2003 World Health 

10 Assembly meeting that ‘‘[t]he need for effective pub11 lic health exists among all peoples’’. 

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

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

14 obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual 

15 week-long summit of the World Health Assembly in 

16 May 2004 in Geneva, Switzerland; 

17 (2) instruct the United States delegation to the 

18 World Health Assembly in Geneva to implement that 

19 plan; and 

20 (3) introduce a resolution in support of observer 

21 status for Taiwan at the summit of the World 

22 Health Assembly. 

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

24 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall sub25 mit a report to Congress in unclassified form describing 
7 

•S 2092 RS 

1 the action taken to carry out the plan described in sub2 section (b). 

3 SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN 

4 IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION. 

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

6 (1) Good health is important to every citizen of 

7 the world and access to the highest standards of health 

8 information and services is necessary to improve the 

9 public health. 

10 (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in 

11 international health cooperation forums and pro12 grams is beneficial for all parts of the world, espe13 cially today with the great potential for the cross-bor14 der spread of various infectious diseases such as the 

15 human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, 

16 and malaria. 

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

greater than that of 3 18 ⁄4 of the member states already 

19 in the World Health Organization (WHO). 

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

21 are substantial, including— 

22 (A) attaining— 

23 (i) 1 of the highest life expectancy lev24 els in Asia; and 
8 

•S 2092 RS 

1 (ii) maternal and infant mortality 

2 rates comparable to those of western coun3 tries; 

4 (B) eradicating such infectious diseases as 

5 cholera, smallpox, the plague, and polio; and 

6 (C) providing children with hepatitis B 

7 vaccinations. 

8 (5) The United States Centers for Disease Con9 trol and Prevention and its counterpart agencies in 

10 Taiwan have enjoyed close collaboration on a wide 

11 range of public health issues. 

12 (6) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a will13 ingness to assist financially and technically in inter14 national aid and health activities supported by the 

15 WHO. 

16 (7) On January 14, 2001, an earthquake, reg17 istering between 7.6 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, 

18 struck El Salvador. In response, the Taiwanese Gov19 ernment sent 2 rescue teams, consisting of 90 individ20 uals specializing in firefighting, medicine, and civil 

21 engineering. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Af22 fairs also donated $200,000 in relief aid to the Salva23 doran Government. 

24 (8) The World Health Assembly has allowed ob25 servers to participate in the activities of the organiza-
9 

•S 2092 RS 

1 tion, including the Palestine Liberation Organization 

2 in 1974, the Order of Malta, and the Holy See in the 

3 early 1950’s. 

4 (9) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Pol5 icy Review, declared its intention to support Tai6 wan’s participation in appropriate international or7 ganizations. 

8 (10) Public Law 106–137 required the Secretary 

9 of State to submit a report to Congress on efforts by 

10 the executive branch to support Taiwan’s participa11 tion in international organizations, in particular the 

12 WHO. 

13 (11) In light of all benefits that Taiwan’s par14 ticipation in the WHO can bring to the state of 

15 health not only in Taiwan, but also regionally and 

16 globally, Taiwan and its 23,500,000 people should 

17 have appropriate and meaningful participation in 

18 the WHO. 

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

20 a letter to Senator Murkowski that the United States 

21 ‘‘should find opportunities for Taiwan’s voice to be 

22 heard in international organizations in order to make 

23 a contribution, even if membership is not possible’’, 

24 further stating that the administration ‘‘has focused 
10 

•S 2092 RS 

1 on finding concrete ways for Taiwan to benefit and 

2 contribute to the WHO’’. 

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

4 Association on May 14, 2002, Secretary of Health 

5 and Human Services Tommy Thompson announced 

6 ‘‘America’s work for a healthy world cuts across polit7 ical lines. That is why my government supports Tai8 wan’s efforts to gain observership status at the World 

9 Health Assembly. We know this is a controversial 

10 issue, but we do not shrink from taking a public 

11 stance on it. The people of Taiwan deserve the same 

12 level of public health as citizens of every nation on 

13 earth, and we support them in their efforts to achieve 

14 it’’. 

15 (14) The Government of the Republic of China 

16 on Taiwan, in response to an appeal from the United 

17 Nations and the United States for resources to control 

18 the spread of HIV/AIDS, donated $1,000,000 to the 

19 Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and Ma20 laria in December 2002. 

21 (15) In 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute Res22 piratory Syndrome (SARS) caused 84 deaths in Tai23 wan. 

24 (16) Avian influenza, commonly known as bird 

25 flu, has reemerged in Asia, with strains of the influ-
11 

•S 2092 RS 

1 enza reported by the People’s Republic of China, 

2 Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, 

3 Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. 

4 (17) The SARS and avian influenza outbreaks 

5 illustrate that disease knows no boundaries and em6 phasize the importance of allowing all people access 

7 to the WHO. 

8 (18) As the pace of globalization quickens and 

9 the spread of infectious disease accelerates, it is cru10 cial that all people, including the people of Taiwan, 

11 be given the opportunity to participate in inter12 national health organizations such as the WHO. 

13 (19) The Secretary of Health and Human Serv14 ices acknowledged during the 2003 World Health As15 sembly meeting that ‘‘[t]he need for effective public 

16 health exists among all peoples’’. 

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

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

19 obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week20 long summit of the World Health Assembly each year 

21 in Geneva, Switzerland; 

22 (2) instruct the United States delegation to the 

23 World Health Assembly in Geneva to implement that 

24 plan; and 
12 

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1 (3) introduce a resolution in support of observer 

2 status for Taiwan at the summit of the World Health 

3 Assembly. 

4 (c) REPORT CONCERNING OBSERVER STATUS FOR TAI5 WAN AT THE SUMMIT OF THE WORLD HEALTH ASSEM6 BLY.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, and not later than April 1 of each year 

8 thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to 

9 the Congress, in unclassified form, describing the United 

10 States plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Tai11 wan at the annual week-long summit of the World Health 

12 Assembly (WHA) held by the World Health Organization 

13 (WHO) in May of each year in Geneva, Switzerland. Each 

14 report shall include the following: 

15 (1) An account of the efforts the Secretary of 

16 State has made, following the last meeting of the 

17 World Health Assembly, to encourage WHO member 

18 states to promote Taiwan’s bid to obtain observer sta19 tus. 

20 (2) The steps the Secretary of State will take to 

21 endorse and obtain observer status at the next annual 

22 meeting of the World Health Assembly in Geneva, 

23 Switzerland. 

Calendar No. 492 

108TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2092 

A BILL 

To address the participation of Taiwan in the 

World Health Organization. 

APRIL 29, 2004 

Reported with an amendment