TAIPEI: Taiwan will send a delegation to a U.N. health meeting even though it does not have an invitation, the government said on Tuesday, warning China that attempts to exclude it could irreversibly damage ties.

Self-ruled Taiwan has accused Beijing of obstructing its efforts to attend the May 22-31 annual meeting in Geneva of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

China views democratic Taiwan as a renegade province to be retaken with the use of force if necessary, and says other countries and international organisations should not recognise it or treat as a separate country.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, which recognises the "one China" policy centred on Beijing, and it never formally takes part in U.N. meetings. But it has in the past been given observer status at some conferences with Beijing's acquiescence.

Ties between the mainland and the island have worsened since the election last year of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who - unlike the island's previous China-friendly administration - has not acknowledged the "one China" principle.

Beijing warned last year that Taiwan's acceptance of that principle was a condition for the retention of its observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA).

In an unusually assertive stand for the island, its foreign ministry said Chen Shih-chung, minister of health and welfare, would lead a delegation to Geneva "to exchange views" with WHA members on global health and safety.

Taiwan's top China policymaking office said Beijing's "rigid and confrontational" approach would have serious consequences.

"Beijing authorities should carefully consider the serious consequences of insisting that Taiwan not be allowed to participate in the WHA and to continue to pressure Taiwan's international space," the island's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

That would "result in irreversible damage to cross-Strait relations."

In Geneva, WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier said the matter was not yet resolved although invitations had been sent.

"Officially the deadline has passed but yet it is my understanding that the discussions are still ongoing and we are also on our side waiting for any developments."

"To my understanding the one China policy is a UN-wide accepted policy," he told a regular U.N. briefing.

A Chinese government delegation this month objected to a Taiwan attending a meeting in Australia on conflict diamonds, forcing the removal of Taiwanese delegates.

In September, a U.N. aviation agency snubbed Taiwan by not inviting it to a conference in Canada.

Tsai's DPP said the government would not bow to Chinese pressure.

Taiwan has said its allies and friends such as the United States, Canada and Japan have supported its attendance at the health meeting. It says health should not be politicized and that leaving Taiwan out of dialogue puts the world's health safety-net at risk.

China said on Monday the island's DPP administration should bear "full responsibility" for their absence from the Geneva meeting, due to its refusal to accept "one China".

"This places an obstacle for Taiwan's participation," An Fengshan, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement.

Asked whether China had asked Switzerland to block the entry of the Taiwan delegation, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang told a news briefing: "No matter what the DPP authorities in Taiwan do, they are doomed to fail." </s> TAIPEI, May 9 (Reuters) - Taiwan will send a delegation to a U.N. health meeting even though it does not have an invitation, the government said on Tuesday, as it warned China that efforts to exclude it could lead to "irreversible" damage to ties.

Self-ruled Taiwan wants to attend a May 22-31 annual meeting in Geneva of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), but it has accused Beijing of obstructing its efforts.

China views democratic Taiwan as a renegade province to be taken back with the use of force, if necessary, and other countries and international organisations should not recognise it or treat as a separate country.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, which recognises "one China" centred on Beijing, and it never formally takes part in U.N. meetings. But it has in the past been given observer status at some conferences, with Beijing's acquiescence.

But ties between the mainland and the island have become strained since the election last year of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), who has not acknowledged the "one China" principle, unlike the island's previous China-friendly administration.

Beijing warned last year that Taiwan's acceptance of the "one China" principle was a condition for the retention of its observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA).

In an unusually assertive stand for the island, its foreign ministry said Chen Shih-chung, minister of health and welfare, would travel with a delegation to Geneva for the meeting "to exchange views" with WHA members on global health and safety.

Taiwan's top China policymaking office said Beijing's "rigid and confrontational" approach would have serious consequences.

"Taiwan's public opinion cannot be lightly insulted," the island's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

"Beijing authorities should carefully consider the serious consequences of insisting that Taiwan not be allowed to participate in the WHA and to continue to pressure Taiwan's international space ... (It will) result in irreversible damage to cross-Strait relations."

A Chinese government delegation this month objected to a Taiwan delegation attending a meeting in Australia on conflict diamonds, forcing the removal of the Taiwan delegates.

In September, a U.N. aviation agency snubbed Taiwan by not inviting it to a conference in Canada.

Taiwan has said its allies and friends such as the United States, Canada and Japan have supported its attendance at the health meeting. It says health should not be politicized and that leaving Taiwan out of dialogue puts the world's health safety-net at risk.

China said on Monday the island's DPP administration should bear "full responsibility" for their absence from the Geneva meeting, due to its refusal to accept "one China".

"This places an obstacle for Taiwan's participation," An Fengshan, a spokesman for China's Taiwan Affairs Office, said in a statement. (Reporting by J.R. Wu; Additional reporting by Ben Blanchard in BEIJING; Editing by Robert Birsel) </s> BEIJING (Reuters) - The Chinese government said on Wednesday that the health of people in Taiwan is not being put at risk by Taiwan’s inability to attend a U.N. health meeting this year as there is no barrier to technical or medical exchanges and aid.

Self-ruled Taiwan has accused Beijing of obstructing its efforts to attend the May 22-31 annual meeting in Geneva of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO).

Ties between China and Taiwan have worsened since the election last year of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen, of the independence-leaning Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) who - unlike the island’s previous China-friendly administration - has not acknowledged the “one China” principle.

Taiwan says health should not be politicized and that leaving Taiwan out of dialogue puts the world’s health safety-net and health of people on the island at risk.

But the health of people in Taiwan and the island’s lack of attendance at the meeting are two different matters, An Fengshan, spokesman for China’s Taiwan Affairs Office, told a regular news briefing.

Taiwan’s information exchange channels with the WHO are smooth, Taiwan can attend technical WHO meetings and if needed WHO experts can visit the island, An said.

“These arrangements ensure that Taiwan can effectively and in a timely way deal with sudden public health issues whether on the island or internationally,” he added.

China views democratic Taiwan as a renegade province to be retaken with the use of force if necessary, and says other countries and international organizations should not recognize it or treat as a separate country.

Taiwan is not a member of the United Nations, which recognizes the “one China” policy centered on Beijing, and it never formally takes part in U.N. meetings. But it has in the past been given observer status at some conferences with Beijing’s acquiescence.

Taiwan is still sending a delegation to the meeting even though it does not have an invitation, warning China that attempts to exclude it could irreversibly damage ties.

The official China Daily, in a Wednesday editorial, said Taiwan’s delegation will likely try to “make a scene” to garner sympathy, but the real goal of Tsai’s government is clear.

“She is seeking to hijack public health in Taiwan to serve her political goal of winning de facto statehood recognition for the island,” it said.

(This story has been refiled to correct day of week in lead.) </s> TAIPEI - Taiwan’s already precarious relations with old rival China took another step back this week after the self-ruled island said Beijing blocked it from the annual World Health Organization assembly, a move that may prompt Taipei to rethink how they treat the other side.

Officials in Taipei said Tuesday the deadline had lapsed to receive an invitation to the May 22-31 World Health Assembly in Geneva. They blamed China for using its clout in the World Health Organization (WHO) to block the invitation.

“If the other side overlooks our appeals and grave reminders, that is sure to severely hurt people’s feelings and spark a backlash in Taiwan public opinion, even causing cross-Strait (China-Taiwan) relations to drift further,” said Chiu Chui-cheng, spokesman for the Taiwan government’s Mainland Affairs Council.

“We want to appeal once more to the other side not to offend Taiwan public opinion,” Chiu said. “The Beijing authorities should reflect deeply on avoidance of old-fashioned, hawkish policy mentalities and actions that could cause huge harm to a resumption of cross-Strait relations.”

Beijing sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory rather than a state entitled to membership in international organizations. The two sides have been separately ruled since the Chinese civil war of the 1940s, when Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to Taiwan.

Taiwan is unlikely to retaliate in real terms over the WHO slight, but the flap brings a string of other China issues into sharper focus and may increase popular anger in Taiwan while prompting a new search for ways Taipei can work with Beijing without selling down local autonomy.

“Taiwan people will feel frustrated with the assertive response of China,” said Huang Kwei-bo, associate diplomacy professor at National Chengchi University in Taipei. “Beijing’s image will get worse.”

Over the past year, China sailed an aircraft carrier around Taiwan, scaled back Taiwan-bound tourism and, since March, has detained a Taiwanese activist without announcing any formal charges against him.

Under former Taiwanese President Ma Ying-jeou, Beijing let Taipei observe the World Health Assembly every year since 2009 as “Chinese Taipei,” implying a link to China.

A spokesman for the Communist government’s Taiwan Affairs Office said Monday Taiwan could not observe this year’s assembly, where the WHO sets policies and approves a budget, because current President Tsai Ing-wen has not endorsed the Beijing view that both sides belong to a single China – a term Ma accepted.

Tsai’s Democratic Progressive Party takes a guarded view of relations with China. Some party members want Taiwan to declare formal independence from Beijing.

China’s actions “will definitely push Taiwan people further and further away and severely destroy peace and stability between the two sides,” Tsai’s party said in a statement Tuesday. “The authorities in Beijing must reflect and correctly see this negative outcome.”

Taiwanese see the world health assemblies as opportunities to learn from the 192 WHO member states and share their own experience in infectious disease control, and improve medical services in developing countries.

Taiwan has just 21 diplomatic allies compared to more than 170 that recognize Beijing, making it hard for Taiwan to gain access to international bodies.

“The only barrier is politics and to speak more specifically, it’s just China,” ruling party legislator Yeh Yi-chin said Monday. “But where we’d like to appeal and remind everyone is, does the whole world want to let China, one country, destroy the global medical safety net?”

Beijing periodically uses its diplomatic connections and clout as the world’s second largest economy to block Taiwan from joining the United Nations, of which the WHO is a special agency. Last year Taiwan was rejected from observing a session of the U.N. International Civil Aviation Organization and from participating in the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Those barriers would keep affecting how Taiwanese see Beijing. “We need to see what happens next time at the United Nations,” Huang said.

Some Taiwanese may pressure Tsai to find a way of negotiating with China that lets the other side open doors again internationally without making Taiwan give up autonomy. Some scholars expect Tsai to propose a new formula for China relations in the second half of 2017.

The U.S. State Department backed Taiwan’s cause of joining the World Health Assembly this year, saying it supports the island’s “meaningful participation” in international bodies that require statehood.

"The United States remains committed to supporting Taiwan as it seeks to expand its already significant contributions to addressing global challenges,” a spokesperson said this week. “We encourage authorities in Beijing and Taipei to engage in constructive dialogue, on the basis of dignity and respect." </s> Taiwan said Tuesday it had been excluded from a major World Health Organisation meeting for the first time in eight years, blaming rival China for the snub as relations worsen.

Delegates attending the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva later this month were supposed to receive their invites by Monday.

Taiwan, which is fighting international marginalisation as Beijing puts pressure on its allies, said it had not received one.

"Mainland China pressured the WHO and blocked it from issuing us an invitation... we express strong dissatisfaction and protest," the island's Mainland Affairs Council said in a statement.

Relations with China have become increasingly frosty since Beijing-sceptic President Tsai Ing-wen took power almost a year ago.

China still sees self-ruled Taiwan as part of its territory awaiting reunification and is incensed that Tsai will not agree to the concept that there is only "one China", unlike her Beijing-friendly predecessor Ma Ying-jeou.

Under Ma, Taiwan was granted "observer status" at the WHA in 2009 -- a rare acknowledgement on the global stage.

But since Tsai took the helm, Beijing has sought to block the island from a string of international events.

China reiterated its demand that Taiwan must accept the "one China" principle and blamed Tsai's traditionally pro-independence Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) for the WHA snub.

"The DPP has damaged the joint political basis of cross-strait relations, so the precondition for Taiwan to attend no longer exists," China's Taiwan Affairs Office said in a statement Monday.

The island was expelled from the WHO in 1972, a year after losing the "China" seat at the United Nations to Beijing.

With China in the ascendant, Taiwan has shed global allies in recent decades, with only 21 countries now recognising the island's sovereignty.

Even its most powerful ally, the United States, has no official diplomatic relations.

US President Donald Trump recently rebuffed the idea of another phone call with Tsai after their protocol-busting chat following his election victory, saying he would not want to damage relations with China's President Xi Jinping. </s> President Tsai Ing-wen of Taiwan responded vigorously to a speech this week by Chinese Communist Party chief Xi Jinping announcing that China would no longer tolerate Taiwan’s sovereignty, urging Xi to “bravely move towards democracy” and “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China.”

In his speech on Tuesday, Xi called Taiwanese independence a “dead end” and warned that, in 2019, China would no longer accept the status quo.

“We make no promise to abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures,” he warned.

Tsai, speaking on Wednesday, responded by lamenting that China has consistently rejected the democratic values that, according to her, define the national identity of Taiwan and condemned China for spending much of 2018 attempting to bribe Taiwan’s allies away from recognizing the nation’s sovereignty.

“Democratic values are the values and way of life that Taiwanese cherish, and we call upon China to bravely move towards democracy,” Tsai declared. “This is the only way they can truly understand Taiwanese people’s ideas and commitments.”

Tsai called on China to “face the reality of the existence of the Republic of China (Taiwan), and not deny the democratic system that the people of Taiwan have established together.” She insisted that Taiwan “absolutely will not accept ‘one country, two systems,'” the policy in place for Hong Kong, which nominally allows Hong Kong to remain democratic but technically deprives it of sovereignty. Xi’s regime has increasingly crippled Hong Kong’s ability to govern itself under “one country, two systems” by banning political candidates anathema to the Communist Party’s interest from running for office.

Tsai also implied that China’s behavior towards Taiwan, particularly since she took over as president in 2016, had brought it international embarrassment. “I want to remind the Beijing authorities that a superpower must act with the demeanor and take the responsibility of a superpower,” she noted, “and international society is watching China to see if it can make changes and become a trustworthy partner.”

“Pressuring international corporations to change their designation for Taiwan won’t bring about a spiritual union, nor will buying off Taiwan’s diplomatic allies or circling Taiwan with military aircraft and naval vessels,” Tsai concluded.

The latter remark referred to China’s policy of using “sharp power,” or economic intimidation, to force international corporations to accept its worldview. Throughout 2018, companies such as Ikea, American Airlines, and Marriott faced the brunt of “sharp power,” forced to choose between identifying Taiwan as a country in their legal papers, websites, and drop-down menus or losing access to the massive Chinese market. Three major airlines in the United States ultimately changed their fight booking options to stop identifying Taiwan as a country even as the U.S. government dismissed China’s bullying as “nonsense” and urged them not to do so. Marriott, in one notable instance, fired a social media manager for “liking” a Twitter post by a group called “Friends of Tibet,” which opposes communism.

China has also used its “Belt and Road” initiative (BRI, or One Belt, One Road) to offer high-interest loans to nations that maintain friendly relations with Taiwan, notably in Latin America. Nations like the Dominican Republic and El Salvador announced last year they no longer recognized Taiwan’s sovereignty after lucrative business meetings with Beijing’s representatives. An enraged Tsai warned the world in August that China’s “increasingly out of control” behavior was “not only a threat to cross-strait peace … [but] caused high levels of global instability.”

Tsai’s speech on Wednesday followed new year’s remarks from Xi Jinping warning that 2019 would be the last year China would tolerate Taiwan’s existence.

“Reunification is a historical trend and it is the right path. Taiwan independence is an adverse current of history and is a dead end,” Xi announced. “The issue of Taiwan is part of China’s domestic politics. It is a core interest of China, and the … feelings of the Chinese people, and foreign interference is intolerable.”

He added that Chinese officials “make no promise to abandon the use of force” to end Taiwan’s independence.

Asked about the aggressive remarks on Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Lu Kang claimed to reporters that Xi was not speaking for China, but for the world.

Xi “made it very clear in his speech that adherence to the one-China principle is a consensus shared by the international community,” Lu said. “The international community generally understands and supports the just cause of the Chinese people in opposing ‘Taiwan independence’ separatist activities and realizing national reunification.”

“We make no promise to renounce the use of force. This does not target compatriots in Taiwan, but the interference of external forces and the very small number of ‘Taiwan independence’ separatists and their activities,” he added, likely alluding to the United States as an “external force” against Beijing’s interests on the matter.

The threat of use of force is not new for Xi’s regime. In October, Chinese Defense Minister Wei Fenghe said during remarks to the press that “if someone tries to separate out Taiwan, China’s military will take the necessary actions at any cost.” Two months later, the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) reportedly deployed a significantly larger fleet of naval vessels to the Taiwan Strait, presumably to surround Taiwan’s military and intimidate U.S. ships in the area. The Chinese Foreign Ministry argued this was necessary because a U.S. Navy ship had traveled through the sovereign Vietnamese waters in the South China Sea, which China has illegally claimed for itself. </s> China should not politicise Taiwan's participation in a UN health meeting, Taiwan activists said </s> BEIJING (AP) — China said Friday that the U.S. should not allow an ongoing visit by Taiwan’s president to New York and that it would impose sanctions on American companies that sell arms to the self-governing island as part of an expected $2.2 billion deal.

President Tsai Ing-wen is in New York on a two-night “transit” stop en route to an official visit to four Caribbean nations. She was scheduled to deliver a speech to a U.S.-Taiwan business summit and attend a dinner with members of the Taiwanese-American community.

“We urge the U.S. to abide by the ‘one China’ principle and … not allow Tsai Ing-wen’s stopover, cease official exchanges with Taiwan and refrain from providing any platform for separatist Taiwan independence forces,” Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said at a daily briefing.

In a separate statement on the foreign ministry’s website, Geng announced sanctions on companies involved in the arms deal, which he said “undermines China’s sovereignty and national security.” The four-sentence statement did not provide any details about the sanctions.

The Trump administration said Tuesday that it is proposing a $2.2 billion sale that would include 108 Abrams tanks and 250 Stinger surface-to-air missiles. The tanks represent a significant upgrade to Taiwan’s aging fleet.

Taiwan split from China during a civil war in 1949, and Tsai has resisted Chinese pressure for reunification under the “one country, two systems” framework that governs Hong Kong.

The United States recognizes Beijing as the government of China, but provides military and other support to Taiwan. China objects to such support as an interference in what it considers its internal affairs.

Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi, on a visit to Hungary, said his country has grave concern about Tsai’s U.S. visits. She is scheduled to make another two-night stop on her way home.

She is visiting Haiti, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Vincent and the Grenadines and St. Lucia on a 12-day trip. The island nations are among the few countries that recognize Taiwan instead of China.

Before departing, Tsai said Thursday that she wants to share the values of democracy and perseverance with Taiwan’s friends.

“Our democracy has not come easily and now is facing the threat and technological penetration of foreign forces,” she said, in a veiled reference to China.

Copyright © 2019 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed. </s> The wife of a Taiwanese pro-democracy activist detained in China said Monday that she was prevented from flying to the mainland to seek a visit with her husband, whose case has inflamed tensions between the sides that have already sunk to their lowest level in years.

Lee Ching-yu said airline staff told her when she tried to check in for her flight that Beijing authorities had canceled her Chinese-issued travel permit. Li was hoping to fly to China to demand information about her husband, Lee Ming-che, who has not been heard from since March 19.

A Chinese official said last week that Lee was under investigation on suspicion of endangering Chinese national security and was in "good physical condition," but offered no additional information. Lee Ching-yu says her husband suffers from hypertension and has asked that medication be provided to him.

Lee, a college employee who used the WeChat social media platform to discuss China-Taiwan relations, is the first Taiwanese activist in years to be held by China on security charges. His colleagues said his account on WeChat — a mainland China-based service used broadly in the Chinese-speaking world — had been shut down by Chinese authorities in mid-2016, suggesting he had attracted government attention.

Lee, 42, formerly worked for the Democratic Progressive Party, which has advocated for Taiwan's formal independence. He was due to meet a friend in the southern Chinese province of Guangdong on March 19 but never arrived.

China cut off its already limited contacts with Taiwan's government in June, five months after the DPP's Tsai Ing-wen was elected president. Since then, China has been seen as further restricting the island's already limited diplomatic breathing space while bringing economic pressure to bear.

Trailed by a scrum of supporters and media, Lee Ching-yu was turned away at the check-in counter by an Air China employee who said the airline had been informed by Beijing that her permit to visit the mainland had been voided, without providing details. China regards Taiwan as part of its territory and requires the island's residents to use a document called a Taiwan Compatriots Pass rather than their passport when traveling to the mainland.

"I wonder why China needs to stop me, a defenseless woman, from visiting," Li told reporters at the airport.

Monday's drama raises the stakes in a case already complicated by the absence of formal cross-strait diplomatic channels. The Taiwanese government department responsible for relations with China says its requests for information about Lee have largely gone ignored.

Lee Ching-yu said Sunday that a middleman who claimed to have Chinese government contacts sought to persuade her not to make the trip, saying that her husband would be released soon if she acted in an "obedient and quietly cooperative" manner. If not, Lee said, the middleman suggested that Chinese state television would air a confession extracted from her husband.

Taiwanese media on Monday disclosed the middleman's identity as former Taiwanese intelligence officer Lee Chun-min, who told the press that he would no longer work on the case.

National security crimes in China are broadly defined and have a range of penalties. Authorities usually release little or no information on the specific allegations, citing the need to protect state secrets.

Powers of the security services in dealing with foreign groups and their Chinese partners were strongly enhanced under a law that took effect in January, leading to concerns about further prosecutions and restrictions on civil society.

In recent years, China's state security apparatus has detained foreign activists, domestic lawyers and other political elements it considers hostile and extracted and aired video confessions as proof that they were working to undermine China's national security. In several instances, the detainees recanted their confessions upon their release.
A spokesman for the Taiwan Affairs Office of People's Republic of China says Taiwan is barred from observing this year’s World Health Assembly because current President Tsai Ing-wen has not endorsed the Beijing view that both sides belong to a single China under the One-China policy; the spokesman further said that the health of people in Taiwan is not being put at risk by Taiwan's inability to attend.