Taiwan hopes for full membership at World Health Organisation

May 16, 2010, 18:51 GMT

Taipei - Taiwan told the World Health Organization (WHO) Sunday that it hopes to finally become a full WHO member - in place of the observer status it currently enjoys.

Taiwan lost its WHO seat to China in 1972, one year after the United Nations (UN) expelled Taiwan and accepted Beijing as the legitimate representative of China.

Health minister Yaung Chih-liang made the comments in Geneva on the eve of the 63rd World Health Assembly's opening, according to the Central News Agency (CNA).

He said that Taiwan had proven the benefits of its observer status when it received WHO's help in combating the H1N1 virus outbreak.

'However, Taiwan's interaction with the WHO cannot be complete unless we become a full member,' he said, citing WHO's restrictions, such as how Taiwan must apply for permission to attend each meeting of the WHO.

Taiwan is seeking to rejoin the UN and UN-affiliated organizations such as WHO, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and the (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

China claims that Taiwan is Beijing's breakaway province so Taipei cannot join international organizations whose membership is open only to sovereign states.

But China said that so long as Taiwan accepts Beijing's 'one China' policy, Beijing is willing to discuss Taiwan's participation in international activities.