Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06AITTAIPEI2009
2006-06-13 06:25:00
CONFIDENTIAL
American Institute Taiwan, Taipei
Cable title:  

TAIWAN PLEASED WITH OUTCOME OF WHA MEETINGS: READY

Tags:  AMED TBIO SENV PREL WHO IO TW 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0004
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHIN #2009/01 1640625
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
R 130625Z JUN 06
FM AIT TAIPEI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0642
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 5301
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0612
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 4226
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 7877
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 7767
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1517
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1749
RUEHPH/CDC ATLANTA GA
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC
C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 002009 

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HHS FOR ERIKA ELVANDER, GENEVA FOR DAVID HOHMAN, BRUSSELS
FOR USMISSION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2010
TAGS: AMED TBIO SENV PREL WHO IO TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN PLEASED WITH OUTCOME OF WHA MEETINGS: READY
TO PUSH MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION

REF: 05 TAIPEI 4852

Classified By: AIT DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID J KEEGAN FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D

C O N F I D E N T I A L AIT TAIPEI 002009

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HHS FOR ERIKA ELVANDER, GENEVA FOR DAVID HOHMAN, BRUSSELS
FOR USMISSION

E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/06/2010
TAGS: AMED TBIO SENV PREL WHO IO TW
SUBJECT: TAIWAN PLEASED WITH OUTCOME OF WHA MEETINGS: READY
TO PUSH MEANINGFUL PARTICIPATION

REF: 05 TAIPEI 4852

Classified By: AIT DEPUTY DIRECTOR DAVID J KEEGAN FOR REASONS 1.4 B/D


1. (C) SUMMARY. Action request para 10. VFM Michael Kau
told AIT Acting Director that Taiwan was very pleased with
the outcome of its pragmatic approach to the WHA Meeting in
Geneva. He expressed Taiwan's appreciation for support from
the US (citing particularly Health Attache David Hohman in
Geneva),the EU, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand and from
unexpected quarters, such as Mongolia. Taiwan is now working
to expand its "meaningful participation" in WHO meetings, as
well as with GOARN and WHO regional entities. Taiwan
requests U.S. assistance on nomenclature which will continue
to pose problems for future Taiwan participation. END
SUMMARY.

TAIWAN THANKS U.S. AND OTHERS FOR THEIR SUPPORT
-------------- --


2. (C) Acting Director David Keegan (ADIR) together with
POLOFF and ESTHOFF, met with Vice Foreign Minister Michael
Kau, MOFA International Organizations Director-General John
Chen and MOH Director-General Peter Chang to get a read-out
of their participation in the WHA meetings in Geneva May
22-24. Kau expressed great appreciation for the assistance
rendered to Taiwan in Geneva, especially Taiwan Minister of
Health Hou Shen-mou's meeting with HHS Secretary Leavitt; he
particularly expressed gratitude for the "very active and
timely" assistance from US Mission Health Attache David
Hohman. He also cited the assistance of other supporters:
Japan and its envoy in Geneva Minami; the EU, particularly EU
Troika intervention with former WHO DG Lee about Taiwan
participation; Canada, Australia and New Zealand; as well as
from unexpected quarters such as Mongolia in support of
Taiwan's meaningful participation in WHO activities. Taiwan
also received an e-mail copy of WHO Director-General Lee's

letter to HHS Secretary Leavitt, Kau said. On DG Lee's
sudden death in Geneva, Kau suggested it was connected to two
issues which had greatly worried Lee in the days before he
died -- Taiwan and HAMAS' participation in WHO.


3. (C) Kau told the ADIR that Taiwan went to the WHA meeting
in Geneva with four priorities: participation in technical
meetings, participation in WHO regional activities, GOARN
membership, and Taiwan's International Health Regulations
(IHRs) focal point for IHR. On GOARN membership, Kau
explained that WHO agreed to put Taiwan on the Outbreak
Verification List (OVL) under TCDC Chief Stephen Kuo's name,
but Kau argued that this was just a symbolic gesture that
carried little substance. It may actually undercut Taiwan
efforts at GOARN membership, he implied, since it allowed the
PRC to argue that since Taiwan was already on the OVL list it
did not need to become a full fledged member of GOARN.
(Note: According to TCDC contacts, OVL is just an e-mail
based information dissemination network for disease
outbreaks; it does not provide the access to information on
upcoming meetings that Taiwan needs. End note.)

WHAT'S NEXT FOR TAIWAN?
--------------


4. (C) ADIR urged Kau and his colleagues to move forward on
the basis of the positive results Taiwan achieved at the WHA
and focus on next steps to continue expanding Taiwan
participation in WHO activities in the run up to next year's
WHA meeting. Kau responded that Taiwan intends to continue
taking a low key and "flexible pragmatic" approach to WHO
pressing for meaningful participation in technical meetings.
Taiwan had participated in 14 out of 34 technical meetings
over the past two years, he explained and Taiwan's top
priority now is to improve on that record. Taiwan, he
continued, also considers GOARN membership to be a top
priority and hopes for U.S. support on GOARN. ADIR suggested
that Taiwan's near-term priority should be obtaining early
notification of meetings and early submission of applications
to attend. John Chen interjected that GOARN training
programs were a top priority for Taiwan since they were
organized on a professional level. He added that many
renowned educational institutions such as Harvard University
were members of GOARN. ADIR asked if in that regard Taiwan
might consider asking its medical schools to apply for GOARN
membership as one way of circumventing the sovereign nation
obstacle and advancing the objective of professional
interchange.


5. (C) On Taiwan's unilateral accession to the IHRs, Kau
explained that the remaining issue was to determine Taiwan's
"focal point" (contact point). Another Taiwan priority, Kau
continued, was to build on WHO's agreement that Taiwan could
participate in some activities of WPRO, WHO's Manila-based
Western Pacific Regional Office, to secure active, regular
participation .

NOMENCLATURE: "TAIPEI CDC" VS. "TAIWAN, CHINA"
--------------


6. (C) Chen said that often when Taiwan has been permitted
to participate in WHO meetings over the past year, the
invitations would be addressed to "Taipei CDC," but when the
meeting started the delegation would be addressed as "Taiwan,
China." This caused much consternation back home among
legislators and government officials. Chen hoped the WHO
Secretariat would be able to arrange a working compromise on

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the name issue so that in the future Taiwan participation
would not be jeopardized by nomenclature issues. Vice
Premier Tsai Ying-wen and several legislators were, he
explained, very concerned about this issue. MOH's Peter
Chang agreed to provide AIT with a listing of meetings in
which this name "bait and switch" occurred.

COMMENT: THE WAY AHEAD
--------------


7. (C) The WHA meetings in Geneva clearly had a positive
impact on Taiwan and could provide the government of
President Chen Shui-bian with maneuvering room to continue
this step-by-step approach to enhancing Taiwan participation
in WHO activities. The expressions of appreciation from VFM
Kau to the ADIR and from President Chen to AIT/W Chairman
Burghardt June 8, together with Taiwan's pledge to continue
low-key "flexible pragmatism" in furtherance of its
participation in WHO activities, offer an opportunity to make
headway over the coming year -- perhaps enough headway to
obviate confrontation in the run up to next year's WHA
meeting. VFM Kau and Taiwan CDC believes and AIT concurs,
that now is the time to begin working to increase Taiwan
"meaningful participation" in WHO activities in the coming
months in order to set the stage for next year's WHA. There
are two issues that need addressing in order to ensure
Taiwan's meaningful participation: timely notification and
ability to attend.


8. (C) Obtaining early notification of meetings: TCDC told
AIT that currently Taiwan learns about a meeting through its
contacts and then Taiwan contacts WHO about its interest in
attending. This ad-hoc system is not working, as Taiwan
learns too late about the meetings or is told by WHO it
cannot attend. What Taiwan needs is to find a more reliable
mechanism for timely notification, perhaps reach an
understanding with WHO (an MOU?) for WHO to provide early
notification to Taiwan of upcoming technical meetings.


9. (C) Ensuring Taiwan is able to attend technical
meetings: coordination between AIT/Taipei and Taiwan
working-level contacts, specifically AIT's ESTHOFF and Taiwan
CDC to ensure Taiwan attends those technical meetings. AIT
proposes to request Taiwan CDC to notify AIT of technical
meetings where Taiwan is experiencing, or expects to
experience, difficulty attending. AIT would then contact US
WHO Mission in Geneva and Amembassy Beijing to coordinate
appropriate action. This effort will benefit from
coordination with US mission in Geneva and Amembassy Beijing,
as well as ad hoc coordination with likeminded countries,
notably Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the EU and
some of its individual member nations, and Mongolia in
support of Taiwan participation.


10. (C) Request comments and thoughts from Department and
U.S. Mission Geneva.

KEEGAN