Geneva, May 23 (CNA) Taiwan's Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung said in Geneva, Switzerland on Tuesday that he expects political opposition to the country's efforts to attend the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer to continue.
Chen was answering reporters' questions on the election of Tedros Adhanom from Ethiopia as director-general of the World Health Organization (WHO) earlier in the day. Adhanom will replace Margaret Chan, a Hong Kong-born Chinese, in July.
Chan has been the WHO's chief executive since November 2006.
The WHA is the WHO's decision-making body and meets in Geneva annually to discuss health issues of global concern and formulate policies.
Taiwan had hoped to attend this year's WHA in Geneva from May 22-31 as an observer, as it has done for the past eight years, but it did not receive an invitation from the WHO because of opposition from China.
Asked about future Taiwan-WHO relations under the new leadership, Chen said he expects political interference to continue.
However, he said the newly-elected director-general "will not be worse" than Margaret Chan in terms of addressing Taiwan's right to participate in the WHA's annual meeting.
Chen said Taiwan is not optimistic about the change but does expect the situation to improve in the future.
Adhanom stopped discussions on Taiwan at the WHA several years ago. His stance on Taiwan's WHA bid was keenly followed by those with an interest in the issue.
Despite being excluded from this year's WHA session, Taiwan sent its delegation, headed by Chen, to Geneva as planned, to meet with officials from countries participating in the WHA and to protest over Taiwan's exclusion.
Since his arrival last Saturday, Chen said he has held 30 bilateral meetings with representatives of WHO members, including the United States, adding that more meetings are planned over the next few days.
