House Resolution 157 - Introduced
PAG LIN
H.R. ________ S.R. ________
1 1 HOUSE RESOLUTION NO.
1 2 BY BELL, GIPP, BAILEY,
1 3 ROBERTS, and H. MILLER
1 4 A Resolution supporting a proposal to invite the
1 5 Republic of China (Taiwan) to participate in the
1 6 upcoming meeting of the World Health Assembly as an
1 7 observer.
1 8 WHEREAS, the sixty=first World Health Assembly
1 9 meeting is scheduled to take place May 19 through 24,
1 10 2008, in Geneva, Switzerland; and
1 11 WHEREAS, the Republic of China, commonly known as
1 12 Taiwan, was a founding member of the World Health
1 13 Organization and participated for 24 years as a full
1 14 member contributing to achieving the organization's
1 15 objectives; and
1 16 WHEREAS, in 1972, in the wake of the admission of
1 17 the People's Republic of China to the United Nations,
1 18 Taiwan's membership in the World Health Organization
1 19 was discontinued; and
1 20 WHEREAS, Taiwanese health officials and medical
1 21 professionals have been unable to participate in World
1 22 Health Organization forums and workshops regarding
1 23 technological advances in the diagnosis, monitoring,
1 24 and control of diseases since 1972, and have been
1 25 denied the right to maintain contact and coordination
1 26 with the World Health Organization in emergency
1 27 situations involving the containment and cure of
1 28 existing and newly emerging infectious diseases; and
1 29 WHEREAS, Taiwan's location at the juncture of
1 30 important maritime routes between northeast and
2 1 southeast Asia has resulted in extensive world trade
2 2 with Taiwan, a thriving Taiwanese tourism industry,
2 3 and a large foreign migrant worker population in
2 4 Taiwan; and
2 5 WHEREAS, Taiwan's absence from the World Health
2 6 Organization system has become a missing link in the
2 7 global framework of providing health and medical care;
2 8 and
2 9 WHEREAS, the granting of observer status to Taiwan
2 10 would not constitute a challenge to representation by
2 11 the People's Republic of China in the World Health
2 12 Organization and would demonstrate that the
2 13 organization is inclusive with regard to Taiwan's 23
2 14 million inhabitants; and
2 15 WHEREAS, as a democratically elected government,
2 16 the government of Taiwan has a duty and responsibility
2 17 to ensure that the people of Taiwan are represented in
2 18 an organization which establishes and oversees an
2 19 international framework for the control of disease and
2 20 the promotion of universal health; and
2 21 WHEREAS, Taiwan has made substantial progress in
2 22 the health field, has one of the highest life
2 23 expectancy rates in Asia, has maternal and infant
2 24 mortality rates comparable to those in western
2 25 countries, has eradicated infectious diseases such as
2 26 cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and has been the
2 27 first country in the region to eradicate polio and
2 28 provide children with hepatitis B vaccinations; and
2 29 WHEREAS, Taiwan has expressed a willingness in
2 30 recent years to provide financial and technological
3 1 assistance in international aid and health activities
3 2 supported by the World Health Organization; NOW
3 3 THEREFORE,
3 4 BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES,
3 5 That the House of Representatives supports the
3 6 granting of observer status to Taiwan during the World
3 7 Health Assembly to be held in May 2008; and
3 8 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That an official copy of
3 9 this Resolution be prepared and forwarded by the Chief
3 10 Clerk of the House of Representatives to the governing
3 11 authority and member states of the World Health
3 12 Organization, the World Health Assembly, and the
3 13 governments of Taiwan and of the People's Republic of
3 14 China.
3 15 LSB 6577HH 82
3 16 rn/rj/8