European Parliament resolution on Taiwan
Date: 2006-05-18
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: Taiwan, World Health Organisation, cooperation policy, health policy, international organisation

7.12.2006

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 297 E/387

Thursday, 18 May 2006

P6_TA(2006)0228

Taiwan

The European Parliament,

European Parliament resolution on Taiwan

— having regard to its resolution of 14 March 2002 on observer status for Taiwan at the May 2002 annual

meeting of the World Health Assembly (WHA) in Geneva (1),

— having regard to its resolution of 15 May 2003 on Taiwan (56th World Health Assembly) (2), calling for

observer status for Taiwan at that Assembly,

— having regard to its resolution of 5 September 2002 on the Commission Communication on Europe
and Asia: A Strategic Framework for Enhanced Partnerships (3), in which it recognised the need to coop-
erate closely with Asia in multilateral organisations, for example in combating HIV/AIDS in the region
through the World Health Organisation (WHO), and, therefore, took the view that all democracies in
Asia, including Taiwan, should be able to participate in the WHO,

— having regard to its resolution of 7 July 2005 on relations between the EU, China and Taiwan and

security in the Far East (4),

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. having regard to the necessity of direct and unobstructed participation in international health coopera-
tion networks, forums and programmes for all parts of the world, especially with today's greater poten-
tial for the cross-border spread of various infectious diseases (such as avian influenza and Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome (SARS)),

B. whereas the WHO has allowed observers to participate in its activities,

C. whereas the Commission has also already declared itself in favour of enhancing contacts between Taiwan
and the WHO, insofar as WHO rules permit; whereas, furthermore, the Commission is interested in
finding a ‘practical solution’ together with the Member States,

D. whereas the greatest risk of an influenza pandemic emanates from Asian countries, where a highly
pathogenic avian influenza virus strain has been spreading for two years despite continued efforts by
competent authorities to contain the disease,

E. whereas infectious diseases like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria and SARS are becoming increasingly

prevalent worldwide,

F. whereas the outbreak of a pandemic outside the EU would also entail a serious health threat to the citi-

zens of the EU,

G. whereas Taiwan would be excluded from UN protection if an epidemic were to break out on the island,
which means that there would be no coordinated cooperation with Taiwan, despite this being essential
since Taiwan is one of the most important international hubs in the Western Pacific as well as an impor-
tant staging area for millions of migratory birds,

H. whereas Taiwan's health-care system is one of the best and most advanced in the region and the Taiwa-
nese authorities wish to let their specialists participate in the WHO's preparatory meetings of experts on
the avian flu situation,

(1) OJ C 47 E, 27.2.2003, p. 606.
(2) OJ C 67 E, 17.3.2004, p. 307.
(3) OJ C 272 E, 13.11.2003, p. 476.
(4) Texts Adopted, P6_TA(2005)0297.

C 297 E/388

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

7.12.2006

Thursday, 18 May 2006

Insists on the better representation of Taiwan in international organisations and takes the view that it is

1.
unfair to continue to exclude more than twenty million people from the world community;

2. Calls on the Director-General of the WHO to immediately include the Taiwan Centre for Disease
in the WHO Global Outbreak and Alert Response Network
Control
(GOARN), to ensure the rapid exchange of relevant information on a regional and global basis;

(Taiwan CDC) as a participant

3. Calls on the Director-General of the WHO and all its member States to ensure that Taiwan has direct
access to and can attend all technical meetings of the WHO which are relevant to the maintenance and
improvement of public health in Taiwan and the rest of the world and, in addition, to allow Taiwan to mean-
ingfully participate in the technical activities and events of the relevant Regional Office of the WHO;

4. Calls on the People's Republic of China to consider the possibility of observer status for Taiwan within
the WHO, or at least in the WHA as its most important decision-making body, in order to protect the
health of the people of Taiwan, of international representatives and foreign employees on the island, and of
the entire world population;

5. Reiterates its call on the Commission and the Member States to support Taiwan's application for
observer status in the WHO;

6.
Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the governments and
parliaments of the Member States and the candidate and accession countries, the Government and Parlia-
ment of the People's Republic of China, the authorities of Taiwan, the UN Secretary-General and the
Director-General of the WHO.