Taiwan has no basis, reason or right to participate in WHA: spokesperson

China's Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason or right to participate in the World Health Assembly, a Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday.

The spokesperson made the remarks in response to a decision made on Monday by the WHA, the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization , not to include in its agenda a proposal on Taiwan's participation as an observer.

The spokesperson said that on Monday, the General Committee and the Plenary Session of the 78th WHA respectively decided to reject the proposal submitted by certain countries. This has been the ninth year in a row that the WHA has rejected the so-called proposal concerning Taiwan.

"China's position on the Taiwan region's participation in the activities of international organizations, including the WHO, is consistent and clear. That is, it must be handled in line with the one-China principle, which is also a fundamental principle as demonstrated by the UNGA Resolution 2758 and WHA Resolution 25.1," the spokesperson stressed.

Due to Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities' persistent separatist stance, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in the WHA no longer exists, the spokesperson said.

Meanwhile, the spokesperson said that the Chinese central government attaches great importance to the health and well-being of compatriots in Taiwan. Under the prerequisite that the one-China principle is upheld, the central government has made proper arrangement for the Taiwan region's participation in global health affairs, and the Taiwan region's medical and health experts can participate in WHO technical meetings.

Over the past year, 11 applications were made by the Taiwan region to take part in WHO technical activities, which involved 12 participants, and all the applications were approved by the central government. Under the framework of the International Health Regulations, the Taiwan region has unimpeded and full-fledged information exchange mechanisms with the WHO and countries in the world, and it can promptly access and report to the WHO concerning information related to health emergencies, the spokesperson noted.

This fully demonstrates that the Chinese central government has every sincerity to address the health issues that compatriots in Taiwan care about, that the Taiwan region has sufficient and unimpeded channels to participate in the WHO's communication and cooperation in the technical domain, and that the rights of the people in Taiwan regarding health are duly protected.

"The so-called 'gap' in global anti-epidemic efforts is nothing but a politically-driven lie," the spokesperson said.

For quite some time, the DPP authorities and certain countries have been blatantly turning back the wheel of history by deliberately distorting and challenging UNGA Resolution 2758 to challenge the one-China principle. They are essentially trying to challenge not only China's sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also international justice and prevailing consensus as well as the post-war international order, the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson said that China's decision of not approving the Taiwan region's participation in this year's WHA has wide support and understanding from the international community. The overwhelming majority of countries in the international community have reaffirmed to the Chinese side that they uphold UNGA Resolution 2758, firmly support the one-China principle, and oppose Taiwan's participation in the WHA. They expressed their support for China's position through various means, such as writing to the WHO Director-General.

"It shows that commitment to the one-China principle is where global opinion trends and the arc of history bends, and what the greater national interests entail. The international community's commitment to the one-China principle is not to be challenged or shaken," the spokesperson stressed.

No matter what the DPP authorities say or do, it does not change the fact that the two sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China and Taiwan is part of China, nor can it stop the trend toward China's ultimate and inevitable reunification. "Taiwan independence" leads nowhere and provocations for that are doomed to failure, the spokesperson said.