Geneva, May 25 (CNA) Taiwan's Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said Thursday that his delegation has held 51 bilateral talks with 28 countries and 23 organizations on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly (WHA) over the past few days.
Some countries have expressed a desire to develop multiple areas of cooperation with Taiwan and Chen said he would study the matter further after returning home, as the delegation's time in Geneva draws to an end.
He also said that 21 countries, including the United States, Germany, and Australia, have spoken up for Taiwan at this year's WHA, the decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), which opened on May 22 and will run through May 31.
Taiwan was unable to attend this year's WHA because of China's obstruction.
Chen's delegation traveled to Geneva to draw attention to the unfair treatment Taiwan received and to deliver a protest letter to the WHO.
Chen also said that he signed his congratulatory letter to Tedros Adhanom from Ethiopia on his election as the new WHA director-general, as health minister for the Republic of China (Taiwan), which he said is the routine way to sign.
Seishi Baba, head of Japan's Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, also said Wednesday that in the global fight against disease, there should not be any gap in the region, indirectly expressing support for Taiwan's bid to attend the WHA.
The Health Minister of Swaziland Sibongile Ndlela-Simelane also said that Taiwan's exclusion from this year's WHA was highly regrettable and expressed support for its future participation.
Taiwan first attended the WHA meeting as an observer in 2009, a year after former President Ma Ying-jeou came to power and pursued a more conciliatory policy toward Beijing.
Taiwan had taken part in every WHA meeting since then, until this year. Its exclusion is widely seen as the latest move by China to clamp down on Taiwan's participation in international events, a strategy that has become more aggressive since President Tsai Ing-wen of the Democratic Progressive Party, who is less conciliatory toward China, came to power in May 2016.
