Taiwanese Officials and Community Leaders in California Urge WHO to Include Taiwan

The WHO’s highest decision-making body has excluded Taiwan from participation since 2017 amid political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party.

Taiwan-affiliated government and community organizations hold a joint press conference in Milpitas, Calif., on May 3, 2025, urging the World Health Organization to allow Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly. Nathan Su/The Epoch Times

In a joint press conference held on May 3, more than a dozen Taiwan-affiliated government and community organizations in Northern California called on the World Health Organization (WHO) to allow Taiwan’s participation.

The event, hosted at the Culture Center of the San Francisco Taipei Economic and Cultural Office (TECO) in Milpitas, was held ahead of the 78th World Health Assembly (WHA) scheduled to take place May 19–27 in Geneva.

TECO is the de facto embassy of Taiwan’s government in the United States.

The WHA, the WHO’s highest decision-making body, has excluded Taiwan from participation since 2017 amid political pressure from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). At the May 3 event, Taiwanese officials and community leaders challenged Beijing’s narrative and urged the international community to uphold inclusivity in global health governance.

“China has long distorted U.N. General Assembly Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution WHA25.1 on the international stage,” Jenny Guo, head of the press division at the San Francisco TECO, said at the conference. “Neither resolution mentions Taiwan or states that Taiwan is part of China. Nor do they authorize the People’s Republic of China to represent Taiwan in the WHO.”

Resolution 2758 was passed by the United Nations during its 1,976th plenary meeting in October 1971, recognizing the People’s Republic of China as the legitimate representative of China at the United Nations, but it does not mention Taiwan directly. All subsequent decisions by U.N. agencies, including WHA Resolution WHA25.1, have been in line with Resolution 2758.

The CCP has stated that Resolution 2758 affirms Taiwan as part of China. In response, the Taiwan International Solidarity Act (H.R.1176) was introduced to the U.S. Congress in 2023 to clarify the scope and meaning of the resolution. The Act has passed the House and is awaiting a decision by the Senate.

The Act states: “Resolution 2758 (XXVI) established the representatives of the Government of the People’s Republic of China as the only lawful representatives of China to the United Nations. The resolution did not address the issue of representation of Taiwan and its people in the United Nations or any related organizations, nor did the resolution take a position on the relationship between the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan or include any statement pertaining to Taiwan’s sovereignty.”

In 2022, President Joe Biden signed into law S.812, a bill directing the secretary of state to develop a strategy to assist Taiwan in regaining observer status at the WHO. The law aims to ensure that the United States actively supports Taiwan’s participation in future WHA meetings.

Guo said the WHO’s 14th General Programme of Work (GPW 14) for 2025–2028 outlines goals such as expanding health coverage and financial protection to promote universal health. Taiwan, she said, has implemented universal health coverage since 1995 with a coverage rate exceeding 99.9 percent, “fully achieving the goal of health for all.”

She also criticized the WHO for continually violating the U.N. Charter’s principle of “leave no one behind” by excluding Taiwan.

Sophia Chuang, director of the Culture Center in Milpitas, said at the press conference that health is a fundamental human right and Taiwan should not be excluded from the WHO.

She noted that the U.S. government has already initiated withdrawal from the WHO. She said that is partly because “the WHA has lost its function as a platform for broad-based collaboration” and “has become politically compromised by some member states ... which is also why Taiwan has been excluded.”

President Donald Trump officially announced the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO on his first day in office this year, Jan. 20. Trump’s order accused the WHO of mishandling the COVID-19 outbreak.

Dr. Jiin T. Lin, former president of the Northern California Taiwanese American Medical Association, moderated the news conference and noted that although the United States has announced its intention to leave the WHO, the withdrawal process takes a year to complete. Therefore, the United States will still participate in the WHO this year and will continue to support Taiwan’s inclusion in the coming WHA.