Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06TOKYO397
2006-01-25 08:56:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Tokyo
Cable title:
TECRO ASKS FOR US SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN OBSERVER
how-toVZCZCXRO1192 RR RUEHHM RUEHPB DE RUEHKO #0397 0250856 ZNY CCCCC ZZH R 250856Z JAN 06 FM AMEMBASSY TOKYO TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7775 INFO RUEHZN/ENVIRONMENT SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COLLECTIVE RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0166 RUEHFK/AMCONSUL FUKUOKA 4180 RUEHNH/AMCONSUL NAHA 6838 RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 7234 RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 2743 RUEHIN/AIT TAIPEI 5846
C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 000397
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/TC LEVY
DEPT FOR EAP/J ALBRIGHT AND MIDHA
DEPT FOR OES/IHA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016
TAGS: TBIO SOCI WHO JA KFLU
SUBJECT: TECRO ASKS FOR US SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN OBSERVER
STATUS AT WHA
Classified By: EST Minister-Counselor Joyce Rabens for 1.4 b and d
C O N F I D E N T I A L TOKYO 000397
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/TC LEVY
DEPT FOR EAP/J ALBRIGHT AND MIDHA
DEPT FOR OES/IHA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016
TAGS: TBIO SOCI WHO JA KFLU
SUBJECT: TECRO ASKS FOR US SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN OBSERVER
STATUS AT WHA
Classified By: EST Minister-Counselor Joyce Rabens for 1.4 b and d
1. (C) USAID Counselor and ESToff met with three officials
from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
(TECRO) in Japan on January 25. TECRO Liaison Division
Director Peter M. Y. Tsai, Deputy Director Juei-hu Hsu and
Political Division Second Secretary Joe Ting-Chang Hsu
requested the meeting, during which they raised the issue of
Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA)
meeting that is scheduled for this upcoming May. Tsai asked
for the United States' assistance in helping Taipei obtain
observer status at the World Health Organization prior to the
WHA. He said that if the United States and Japan supported
Taipei, Taiwan would more likely be able to participate at
the May Assembly.
2. (C) The TECRO officials were also interested in learning
more on whether the U.S. Embassy assisted in getting
agreement for three Taiwan representatives to attend
(backbench) the recent Japan-WHO Joint Meeting on Early
Response to a Potential Influenza Pandemic held in Tokyo on
January 12-13 and asked for assistance with such requests in
the future. ESToff responded by saying that experts around
the world understood that avian influenza and other
infectious diseases were global health threats and that it
would be important to ensure that the global community's
efforts were coordinated and efficient because such diseases
did not stop at borders. In response to a question from
ESToff, Joe Hsu said that TECRO Tokyo does not have direct
contact with Japanese government ministries such as the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to discuss avian
influenza preparedness because they "could not", but said
that Taiwan had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) to
share virus samples. Hsu explained that Taiwan had shared
SARS samples using the MOU in the past before sending reports
in to the WHO. He inferred in his subsequent comments that
it was frustrating for Taipei to be unable to work with the
WHO directly.
3. (C) The TECRO officials discussed with AID Counselor some
of Taipei's overseas aid activities, which focus primarily on
Asia through loan assistance. Hsu said that Taiwan's ODA
efforts now reached 0.13 percent of GDP. Taiwan works
closely with the Asian Development Bank. In addition, Taiwan
has provided grant aid to Vietnam and Malaysia on pandemic
flu preparedness, but not much to other Southeast Asian
countries. There was interest in discussing the potential
for closer aid coordination on the ground between Taiwan aid
authorities and USAID.
SCHIEFFER
SIPDIS
SIPDIS
DEPT FOR EAP/TC LEVY
DEPT FOR EAP/J ALBRIGHT AND MIDHA
DEPT FOR OES/IHA
E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/25/2016
TAGS: TBIO SOCI WHO JA KFLU
SUBJECT: TECRO ASKS FOR US SUPPORT FOR TAIWAN OBSERVER
STATUS AT WHA
Classified By: EST Minister-Counselor Joyce Rabens for 1.4 b and d
1. (C) USAID Counselor and ESToff met with three officials
from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Representative Office
(TECRO) in Japan on January 25. TECRO Liaison Division
Director Peter M. Y. Tsai, Deputy Director Juei-hu Hsu and
Political Division Second Secretary Joe Ting-Chang Hsu
requested the meeting, during which they raised the issue of
Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA)
meeting that is scheduled for this upcoming May. Tsai asked
for the United States' assistance in helping Taipei obtain
observer status at the World Health Organization prior to the
WHA. He said that if the United States and Japan supported
Taipei, Taiwan would more likely be able to participate at
the May Assembly.
2. (C) The TECRO officials were also interested in learning
more on whether the U.S. Embassy assisted in getting
agreement for three Taiwan representatives to attend
(backbench) the recent Japan-WHO Joint Meeting on Early
Response to a Potential Influenza Pandemic held in Tokyo on
January 12-13 and asked for assistance with such requests in
the future. ESToff responded by saying that experts around
the world understood that avian influenza and other
infectious diseases were global health threats and that it
would be important to ensure that the global community's
efforts were coordinated and efficient because such diseases
did not stop at borders. In response to a question from
ESToff, Joe Hsu said that TECRO Tokyo does not have direct
contact with Japanese government ministries such as the
Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare (MHLW) to discuss avian
influenza preparedness because they "could not", but said
that Taiwan had signed a Memorandum of Understanding with
Japan's National Institute of Infectious Diseases (NIID) to
share virus samples. Hsu explained that Taiwan had shared
SARS samples using the MOU in the past before sending reports
in to the WHO. He inferred in his subsequent comments that
it was frustrating for Taipei to be unable to work with the
WHO directly.
3. (C) The TECRO officials discussed with AID Counselor some
of Taipei's overseas aid activities, which focus primarily on
Asia through loan assistance. Hsu said that Taiwan's ODA
efforts now reached 0.13 percent of GDP. Taiwan works
closely with the Asian Development Bank. In addition, Taiwan
has provided grant aid to Vietnam and Malaysia on pandemic
flu preparedness, but not much to other Southeast Asian
countries. There was interest in discussing the potential
for closer aid coordination on the ground between Taiwan aid
authorities and USAID.
SCHIEFFER