Taiwan should not give up on World Health Assembly bid: former health minister｜Taiwan News

With the opening of the WHO’s World Health Assembly in 10 days time, former health minister Chen Shih-chung said Taiwan shouldn’t give up on its bid to take part, despite failing to receive a formal invite owing to Chinese pressure. Chen, who will be a minister-without-portfolio in the new Cabinet, said that excluding Taiwan from the UN health body was the world’s loss. Chen was speaking at the 40th anniversary of the John Tung Foundation, a health NGO, where he also talked about kicking an over-50-year smoking habit and how he has stayed clean for over two years.

Present and past chairs of the John Tung Foundation take to the stage, celebrating the NGO’s 40th anniversary. They declared they would proactively fight against new kinds of tobacco products. Among them, the biggest poster child for quitting smoking was none other than former health minister Chen Shih-chung, who managed to kick a smoking habit of 52 years.

Chen Shih-chung
Former Minister of Health and Welfare
I reported to the chair that I still haven’t had a smoke. It’s been more than two years. I now find that when I sing, I can sing higher notes better because my lung capacity has improved. Once your body improves, you harbor greater ambitions, so now I’m doing weight training.

Chen stressed there are many benefits to quitting smoking. Turning to another health issue, the WHO has not issued an invitation for Taiwan to take part in the upcoming World Health Assembly. Chen, who has devoted himself to health issues for many years and has traveled to Geneva many times to advocate for Taiwan’s participation in the assembly, spoke up on Taiwan’s behalf.

Chen Shih-chung
Former Minister of Health and Welfare
We still haven’t received an invitation, but we should not give up hope and will continue to work hard. I think the WHA as a health body should not allow politics to intervene so deeply. We should at least receive an invitation to go to the WHA to share Taiwan’s experience with the world. Taiwan’s inability to participate in the WHO is actually the world’s loss. However, we will not lose hope and give up, because we want to contribute to the world and bring health to the world.

Chen’s strong message was that Taiwan in recent years has continued to make contributions to the world on public health and health issues. He called for the nation’s participation in the WHA so that Taiwan could become globally visible.

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