Senate Resolution 150 - Introduced
PAG LIN
S.R. ________ H.R. ________
1 1 SENATE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY BEALL and BLACK
1 3 A Resolution supporting a proposal to invite the
1 4 Republic of China (Taiwan) to participate in the
1 5 upcoming meeting of the World Health Assembly as an
1 6 observer.
1 7 WHEREAS, the sixty=first World Health Assembly
1 8 meeting is scheduled to take place May 19 through 24,
1 9 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland; and
1 10 WHEREAS, the Republic of China, commonly known as
1 11 Taiwan, was a founding member of the World Health
1 12 Organization and participated for 24 years as a full
1 13 member contributing to achieving the organization's
1 14 objectives; and
1 15 WHEREAS, in 1972, in the wake of the admission of
1 16 the People's Republic of China to the United Nations,
1 17 Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization
1 18 was discontinued; and
1 19 WHEREAS, Taiwanese health officials and medical
1 20 professionals have been unable to participate in World
1 21 Health Organization forums and workshops regarding
1 22 technological advances in the diagnosis, monitoring,
1 23 and control of diseases since 1972, and have been
1 24 denied the right to maintain contact and coordination
1 25 with the World Health Organization in emergency
1 26 situations involving the containment and cure of
1 27 existing and newly emerging infectious diseases; and
1 28 WHEREAS, Taiwan's location at the juncture of
1 29 important maritime routes between northeast and
1 30 southeast Asia has resulted in extensive world trade
2 1 with Taiwan, a thriving Taiwanese tourism industry,
2 2 and a large foreign migrant worker population in
2 3 Taiwan; and
2 4 WHEREAS, Taiwan's absence from the World Health
2 5 Organization system has become a missing link in the
2 6 global framework of providing health and medical care;
2 7 and
2 8 WHEREAS, the granting of observer status to Taiwan
2 9 would not constitute a challenge to representation by
2 10 the People's Republic of China in the World Health
2 11 Organization and would demonstrate that the
2 12 organization is inclusive with regard to Taiwan's 23
2 13 million inhabitants; and
2 14 WHEREAS, as a democratically elected government,
2 15 the government of Taiwan has a duty and responsibility
2 16 to ensure that the people of Taiwan are represented in
2 17 an organization which establishes and oversees an
2 18 international framework for the control of disease and
2 19 the promotion of universal health; and
2 20 WHEREAS, Taiwan has made substantial progress in
2 21 the health field, has one of the highest life
2 22 expectancy rates in Asia, has maternal and infant
2 23 mortality rates comparable to those in western
2 24 countries, has eradicated infectious diseases such as
2 25 cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and has been the
2 26 first country in the region to eradicate polio and
2 27 provide children with hepatitis B vaccinations; and
2 28 WHEREAS, Taiwan has expressed a willingness in
2 29 recent years to provide financial and technological
2 30 assistance in international aid and health activities
3 1 supported by the World Health Organization; NOW
3 2 THEREFORE,
3 3 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE, That the Senate
3 4 supports the granting of observer status to Taiwan
3 5 during the World Health Assembly to be held in May
3 6 2008; and
3 7 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That an official copy of
3 8 this Resolution be prepared and forwarded by the
3 9 Secretary of the Senate to the governing authority and
3 10 member states of the World Health Organization, the
3 11 World Health Assembly, and the governments of Taiwan
3 12 and of the People's Republic of China.
3 13 LSB 6577SS 82
3 14 rn/rj/8