TAIPEI/GENEVA, (Reuters) – Taiwan is set to take part in next week’s World Health Organisation annual congress for the first time in 38 years, in what is regarded as a rare diplomatic opportunity for the self-ruled island.
Under an agreement reached with Beijing, 15 people will represent Taiwan at the World Health Assembly under the name of Chinese Taipei.
China has claimed sovereignty over Taiwan since 1949, when Mao Zedong’s Communists won the Chinese civil war and Chiang Kai-shek’s Nationalists fled to the island. Beijing has vowed to bring Taiwan under its rule, by force if necessary.
“Our delegation will define this trip as a journey of professional studying and sharing,” the Taiwanese health department said in a statement on its website on Friday.
“Because our country has not joined any U.N. agencies for 38 years, it’s important to study the internal process of the WHO and interact with officials from other countries,” it said.
