Taiwan: World Health Assembly

Lord Faulkner of Worcester:

My Lords, I beg leave to ask the Question standing in my name on the Order Paper. In doing so, I declare an interest as co-chairman of the British-Taiwanese parliamentary group.

The Question was as follows:
To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they will support the application by Taiwan for observer status at the World Health Assembly.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, we strongly support the principle enshrined in the WHO constitution that the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being. Observer status, by itself, does not automatically confer any rights or benefits on the holder: these must be negotiated separately. The EU has therefore chosen instead to press for more practical and meaningful measures to allow Taiwan to participate in the activities of the WHO.

Lord Faulkner of Worcester:

My Lords, I thank my noble friend for that Answer and for her restatement of the Government's commitment to the WHO convention. However, she will understand that the decision by Her Majesty's Government to join the majority in the EU in going against Taiwan's application for observer status at the WHA's agenda in January is unfortunate, particularly as Japan and the United States have supported its inclusion. Given that entities such as the Holy See, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta and Palestine all have observer status, can she confirm that nothing in the WHO's constitution prevents states such as Taiwan achieving that status? Finally, what does she mean by the further action that the EU has in mind?

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, I am delighted that we are at one with our European partners on the issue. My noble friend is correct that the Holy See, Palestine and the Sovereign Military Order of Malta have observer status. They can attend meetings, but they cannot vote. Taiwan, however, has a practical relationship with the WHO, attending some conferences and technical workshops, having informal exchanges with the WHO and, importantly, sharing information. In our view, those practical matters are the most important, for they have a direct effect on global health issues, including, for example, avian flu. Observer status would bring no additional health benefits.

Lord Marsh:

My Lords, does the Minister agree that that is a very encouraging answer, because there is nothing more sensitive in that region than the relations between China and Taiwan? They are bad enough at present, and there is no reason whatever to make them worse.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, I entirely agree with the noble Lord.

Lord Howarth of Newport:

My Lords, I, too, declare an interest as a member of the Taiwan parliamentary group. Do we not normally seek to apply a principle of universalism in healthcare and health policy, as exemplified in the Hippocratic oath and in the scope allowed to the Red Cross and the Red Crescent? Should not our Government say, frankly, that it is both wrong and foolish to exclude Taiwan from any aspect of the work and activities of the WHA on account of a dispute about its political status?

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, of course, we agree that there must be universalism in healthcare. However, we do not believe that the exclusion of Taiwan is detrimental to the health needs of the people of Taiwan.

Lord Howell of Guildford:

My Lords, no one wants to raise further tensions in the Pacific area between Japan, Taiwan, America, China and so on; I am sure that the noble Lord is right about that. Nevertheless, this is more than just one more island; this is a nation that happens to be one of the world's biggest producers of micro-circuits, electronic equipment and all sorts of other products. The people of Taiwan are extremely lively and effective. In January, the Minister of State said that the Government would push for further action, if necessary, to create and establish observer status for Taiwan. What further action has been taken since January and what further action is contemplated to ensure that, without too much offence to China's sensitivities, Taiwan has a sensible position in the World Health Organisation?

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, we are working diligently with our EU partners to encourage, for example, the WHO director-general to speed up and implement the new memorandum of understanding with China and to ask for clarification of the rules applied to Taiwanese participation in meetings. We are working on a very practical basis. We are trying to ensure that they are included in meetings and that global health needs are properly met, as far as possible, by the inclusion of Taiwan.

Lord Wallace of Saltaire:

My Lords, we are familiar with the extent to which, in functional UN agencies, politics is played, and the politics of representation has been played with Palestine and Israel over many years. Do Her Majesty's Government and our partners in the European Union have an overall policy on how best to use functional agencies—doing what they do best—on issues of health, labour, the environment and so on, without getting completely bogged down in broader political and security issues that should be left to the United Nations?

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, the EU and the United Kingdom Government have a strong view on the practical implementation of such things. It concerns not just membership of the bodies but their meetings and the implications of the agreements taken at those meetings to take action on issues such as avian flu. It concerns working together to ensure that those issues are dealt with properly.

Lord Tomlinson:

My Lords, does my noble friend agree that in her original Answer she made it sound as though Her Majesty's Government knew better than the Taiwanese themselves what is better for Taiwan? If that kind of impression is given, does it not sound a little as though we have not quite forgotten our colonial past?

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, I am very conscious of our colonial past and of our present, which is not colonial. It is not that we know better than the Taiwanese; we are trying to look at the global situation and the situation in south-east Asia. We are trying to ensure that our health needs, as well as global health needs, are properly met. We believe that in the present circumstances our health needs can be met by Taiwan's present relationship with the WHO.

Lord O'Neill of Clackmannan:

My Lords, does my noble friend agree, as a member of the Taiwan parliamentary group, that there is a touch of double standards here? We were quick to embrace Taiwan as a member of the WTO when it suited all our purposes, but as money is not involved—merely health—on this organisation we adopt a rather different attitude and hide behind the EU.

Baroness Royall of Blaisdon:

My Lords, it is not a question of double standards. We are not hiding behind the EU. We are working with our European partners; we are not trying to hide. Trade is one matter, and membership of the WTO is clearly on a different basis compared with membership of the WHO. That is why we are acting differently.

© Lords Hansard 2 May 2006