Understanding the global call for Taiwan’s membership to the WHO and recognition for their offering of support and solidarity in the global coronavirus pandemic.

The picture above is a meme produced by a Canadian designer used to clear up confusions over China Airlines and Air China; China Airlines being the national carrier for Taiwan (the Republic of China) and Air China is the national carrier for China (the People’s Republic of China). Petitions have been made calling for the renaming of the Taiwanese planes used for mask deliveries abroad due to concerns over the potential rejection of their donations where the country of origin is perceived to be from China. For those interested, feel free to research more into the Taiwan-China feud as it helps contextualise the significance of the issues raised in the article.

The successes of Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus outbreak is obvious enough. Their ability to keep their numbers of confirmed cases under 400 is no coincidence. As governments around the world are forced to rethink their strategies in their fight against the coronavirus pandemic, a lesson or two can be learned from Taiwan. Now that Taiwan has prevailed in a public health crisis, how are they offering their support in the global arena and why have they received backlash over their good intentions?

As part of the most recent developments from the global pandemic, diplomatic relations between Taiwan, China, and the US have been strained as a result of a controversy involving the World Health Organisation (WHO).

In an online interview between Hong Kong broadcaster RTHK and senior WHO official, Bruce Aylward, the official was seen to ‘dodge’ the question when asked about Taiwan and whether he thought the WHO would reconsider Taiwan’s membership. He not only ‘stalled’ but claimed he could not hear the interviewer and later disconnected the call. Whilst the reporter persisted and called Aylward again asking for commentary on Taiwan’s response to the coronavirus, Aylward once again avoided the question and replied, ‘well, we’ve already talked about China.’

Questions have been raised in consideration of the motivations behind WHO’s exclusion of Taiwan. Why has the WHO denied Taiwan's membership of the global institution? And why has its appeal for Observer Status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) been ignored? Not to mention that the email that Taiwanese medical health officials allegedly sent to the WHO warning them of the virus’ potential for human-to-human transmission was back in December. This email received no reply and the WHO instead endorsed China’s denial of human-to-human transmission until late January.

Taiwan’s complex diplomatic situation, especially in its relationship with China, is nothing novel. Taiwan’s lack of diplomatic recognition across various global institutions boils down to the tension over Taiwan’s autonomy in relation to China. This apparent practice of exclusion from the WHO is further indicative of its awkward relationship with the WHO which has led to widespread criticism of the institution as ‘China-leaning’ and guards a strong political bias towards China. Trump’s sudden withdrawal of US funding to the WHO on 15th April further affirms the institution’s questionable legitimacy and credibility as a global agency.

Despite this, the institution’s exclusion of Taiwan’s participation from the global fight against the pandemic has seen Taiwan’s participation take on a different form. The past couple of weeks has seen Taiwan offer its assistance to struggling countries by providing medical resources as well as sharing their experience and helping advance medical research.

‘WHO can help? Taiwan.’

‘Who can isolate Taiwan? No one. Because we are here to help.’ - This was the slogan and graphics designed for the campaign and was published as a full-page advertisement in the New York Times on April 14th.

Despite accusations from Beijing for its actions being politically motivated in an attempt to ‘gain accession to the World Health Organisation’, Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen refutes this and claims that ‘Taiwan will actively bolster our cooperation with all countries to prevent the spread of Covid-19.’ Whilst it may mirror a similar strategy undertaken by China’s ‘Mask Diplomacy’ (read more about China and its ‘Mask Diplomacy’ in another article to be published soon) its level of success and reception from the global arena sets a different tone to its achievements.

Whilst its initial ban on mask exports has limited the distribution of masks to a domestic level, Taiwan is now in overproduction of masks and has taken it upon themselves to distribute their surplus as donations to other nation-states. With factories in Taiwan now producing 13 million masks every day, this makes Taiwan the second largest producer of medical masks in the world behind China.

Amongst those that have received and accepted Taiwan’s show of solidarity are Poland, Guatemala, and Venezuela. Whilst Ursula von der Leyen, the President of the European Commission, had previously on behalf of the European Union welcomed Taiwan’s gesture, emphasising the need for international solidarity and cooperation, individual European countries have been noticeably more ‘reluctant’ to show their open gratitude for Taiwan's assistance.

Stéphane Corcuff, professor/researcher at Lyon University, emphasises that Taiwan is a ‘true friend for Europe and the World’. In a video posted by Corcuff on his Facebook page, he mentions overhearing a French TV journalist reporting on ‘a donation of 7 million masks from China’, and seeks to clarify that these masks were a donation from Taiwan, not China. He thanks Taiwan for their assistance to various European countries and urges that ‘Il est temps de se réveiller!’ (it’s time to wake up!)

Whilst it could be qualified that due to Taiwan’s lack of formal diplomatic ties in Europe, it remains as an ‘uncharted territory’ for various European leaders in exploring their relations with Taiwan. Whether it be fears of upsetting previous alliances and relations or simply a lack of opportunity, recent developments in Taiwan’s relations with the WHO and increased involvement in global affairs see shifts in attitudes and increased prospects of cooperation between the Island and countries in Europe during the virus outbreak; the first of which began as an official partnership with the Czech Republic on fighting the coronavirus pandemic.

As reported in the Nikkei Asian Review, Taiwan’s deal with the Czech Republic will see cooperative efforts of ‘sharing key material and best practices’ to help ‘boost efforts to manage the COVID-19 pandemic through research and development of rapid testing kits, medicines, and vaccines.’ Whilst the Czech Republic has never officially recognised Taiwan’s diplomatic status, the country’s ‘pro-Taiwan’ stance has long been noted and the country has sustained active links with the Island, making the recent partnership perhaps not as unprecedented as is apparent.

Coupled with changes in China’s narrative and its negative global perception due to its alleged concealment of the initial virus outbreak, increased cooperation between Taiwan and the European Union are seemingly likely. However, whilst European countries reassess and rethink their relations with China post-coronavirus, concerns have been expressed that recognition for Taiwan’s diplomatic status will not be universal and relations remain informal and unofficial.

What is undeniably true in the face of the global health crisis, however, is Taiwan’s medical strength and successful government response. Due to its efficacy and successful containment of the coronavirus, Taiwan’s response has impressed many countries abroad and many have begun to coin the Island’s response as the ‘Taiwan Model’. As countries continue to reach out to Taiwan asking for advice on pandemic control as well as opportunities for collaboration, it is evident that Taiwan has successfully won its recognition as a key participant in the fight against the global pandemic.

Disclaimer: the article above was written in advance of the date it was published - we apologise for any new developments and changes to the information and data published since.