[108th Congress Public Law 235]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ235.108]
[[Page 655]]
PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION
[[Page 118 STAT. 656]]
Public Law 108-235
108th Congress
An Act
To address the participation of Taiwan in the World Health
Organization. <<NOTE: June 14, 2004 - [S. 2092]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress <<NOTE: 22 USC 290
note.>> assembled,
SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD HEALTH
ORGANIZATION.
(a) Findings.--Congress makes the following findings:
(1) Good health is important to every citizen of the world
and access to the highest standards of health information and
services is necessary to improve the public health.
(2) Direct and unobstructed participation in international
health cooperation forums and programs is beneficial for all
parts of the world, especially today with the great potential
for the cross-border spread of various infectious diseases such
as the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and
malaria.
(3) Taiwan's population of 23,500,000 people is greater than
that of \3/4\ of the member states already in the World Health
Organization (WHO).
(4) Taiwan's achievements in the field of health are
substantial, including--
(A) attaining--
(i) 1 of the highest life expectancy levels in
Asia; and
(ii) maternal and infant mortality rates
comparable to those of western countries;
(B) eradicating such infectious diseases as cholera,
smallpox, the plague, and polio; and
(C) providing children with hepatitis B
vaccinations.
(5) The United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and its counterpart agencies in Taiwan have enjoyed
close collaboration on a wide range of public health issues.
(6) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a willingness to
assist financially and technically in international aid and
health activities supported by the WHO.
(7) On January 14, 2001, an earthquake, registering between
7.6 and 7.9 on the Richter scale, struck El Salvador. In
response, the Taiwanese Government sent 2 rescue teams,
consisting of 90 individuals specializing in firefighting,
medicine, and civil engineering. The Taiwanese Ministry of
Foreign Affairs also donated $200,000 in relief aid to the
Salvadoran Government.
(8) The World Health Assembly has allowed observers to
participate in the activities of the organization, including the
[[Page 118 STAT. 657]]
Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974, the Order of Malta,
and the Holy See in the early 1950's.
(9) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review,
declared its intention to support Taiwan's participation in
appropriate international organizations.
(10) Public Law 106-137 required the Secretary of State to
submit a report to Congress on efforts by the executive branch
to support Taiwan's participation in international
organizations, in particular the WHO.
(11) In light of all benefits that Taiwan's participation in
the WHO can bring to the state of health not only in Taiwan, but
also regionally and globally, Taiwan and its 23,500,000 people
should have appropriate and meaningful participation in the WHO.
(12) On May 11, 2001, President Bush stated in a letter to
Senator Murkowski that the United States ``should find
opportunities for Taiwan's voice to be heard in international
organizations in order to make a contribution, even if
membership is not possible'', further stating that the
administration ``has focused on finding concrete ways for Taiwan
to benefit and contribute to the WHO''.
(13) In his speech made in the World Medical Association on
May 14, 2002, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy
Thompson announced ``America's work for a healthy world cuts
across political lines. That is why my government supports
Taiwan's efforts to gain observership status at the World Health
Assembly. We know this is a controversial issue, but we do not
shrink from taking a public stance on it. The people of Taiwan
deserve the same level of public health as citizens of every
nation on earth, and we support them in their efforts to achieve
it''.
(14) The Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan, in
response to an appeal from the United Nations and the United
States for resources to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, donated
$1,000,000 to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis, and
Malaria in December 2002.
(15) In 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) caused 84 deaths in Taiwan.
(16) Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has
reemerged in Asia, with strains of the influenza reported by the
People's Republic of China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan,
Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos.
(17) The SARS and avian influenza outbreaks illustrate that
disease knows no boundaries and emphasize the importance of
allowing all people access to the WHO.
(18) As the pace of globalization quickens and the spread of
infectious disease accelerates, it is crucial that all people,
including the people of Taiwan, be given the opportunity to
participate in international health organizations such as the
WHO.
(19) The Secretary of Health and Human Services acknowledged
during the 2003 World Health Assembly meeting that ``[t]he need
for effective public health exists among all peoples''.
(b) Plan.--The Secretary of State is authorized to--
(1) initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain
observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit
[[Page 118 STAT. 658]]
of the World Health Assembly each year in Geneva, Switzerland;
(2) instruct the United States delegation to the World
Health Assembly in Geneva to implement that plan; and
(3) introduce a resolution in support of observer status for
Taiwan at the summit of the World Health Assembly.
(c) Report <<NOTE: Deadline.>> Concerning Observer Status for Taiwan
at the Summit of the World Health Assembly.--Not later than 30 days
after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not later than April 1
of each year thereafter, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to
the Congress, in unclassified form, describing the United States plan to
endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long
summit of the World Health Assembly (WHA) held by the World Health
Organization (WHO) in May of each year in Geneva, Switzerland. Each
report shall include the following:
(1) An account of the efforts the Secretary of State has
made, following the last meeting of the World Health Assembly,
to encourage WHO member states to promote Taiwan's bid to obtain
observer status.
(2) The steps the Secretary of State will take to endorse
and obtain observer status at the next annual meeting of the
World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland.
Approved June 14, 2004.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 2092 (H.R. 4019):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 150 (2004):
May 6, considered and passed Senate.
May 20, considered and passed House.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 40 (2004):
June 14, Presidential statement.
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