Tsai Ing-wen invites WHO chief to visit Taiwan
President Tsai Ing-wen on Thursday invited the WHO chief to visit Taiwan to see for himself how the people there are fighting the coronavirus outbreak, as the two sides continued to spar over the island’s exclusion from the global health agency's plans.
“I want to take this opportunity to invite WHO director-general Dr Tedros [Ghebreyesus] to visit Taiwan and experience for himself how committed the Taiwanese people are to engaging with the world and combating Covid-19,” said Tsai in a tweet on Thursday.
This came hours after Ghebreyesus slammed Taiwan, saying he was facing "racist slurs" against him, which he said had originated from the island.
Taiwan says it has been unable to get timely information on coronavirus and that Taiwanese lives have become political pawns. The WHO denies this.
Taipei has long described this as a pattern of behaviour that puts it at risk because of pressure from Beijing to exclude it from international bodies.
"For years, we have been excluded from international organisations, and we know better than anyone else what it feels like to be discriminated against and isolated," Tsai said in a statement.
"If Director-General Tedros could withstand pressure from China and come to Taiwan to see Taiwan's efforts to fight Covid-19 for himself, he would be able to see that the Taiwanese people are the true victims of unfair treatment,” said Tsai.
Tedros is not a popular figure in Taiwan due to suspicion he is too close to the mainland, and because the WHO lists Taiwan's virus cases under China's numbers.
Earlier, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said Tedros' accusations were groundless and "imaginary" and Taiwan had not made any racist comments nor encouraged anyone to do so.
This came hours after Ghebreyesus slammed Taiwan, saying he was facing "racist slurs" against him, which he said had originated from the island.
Taiwan says it has been unable to get timely information on coronavirus and that Taiwanese lives have become political pawns. The WHO denies this.
Taipei has long described this as a pattern of behaviour that puts it at risk because of pressure from Beijing to exclude it from international bodies.
"For years, we have been excluded from international organisations, and we know better than anyone else what it feels like to be discriminated against and isolated," Tsai said in a statement.
"If Director-General Tedros could withstand pressure from China and come to Taiwan to see Taiwan's efforts to fight Covid-19 for himself, he would be able to see that the Taiwanese people are the true victims of unfair treatment,” said Tsai.
Tedros is not a popular figure in Taiwan due to suspicion he is too close to the mainland, and because the WHO lists Taiwan's virus cases under China's numbers.
Earlier, Taiwan Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou said Tedros' accusations were groundless and "imaginary" and Taiwan had not made any racist comments nor encouraged anyone to do so.
AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
