[108th Congress Public Law 28]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]
[DOCID: f:publ028.108]
[[Page 117 STAT. 769]]
Public Law 108-28
108th Congress
An Act
Concerning participation of Taiwan in the World Health
Organization. <<NOTE: May 29, 2003 - [S. 243]>>
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD
HEALTH ORGANIZATION (WHO).
(a) Findings.--The 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 with today's greater 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 three-fourths of the member states already in the World
Health Organization (WHO).
(4) Taiwan's achievements in the field of health are
substantial, including one of the highest life expectancy levels
in Asia, maternal and infant mortality rates comparable to those
of western countries, the eradication of such infectious
diseases as cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and the first to
eradicate polio and provide children with hepatitis B
vaccinations.
(5) The United States Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention and its Taiwan counterpart agencies 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.
[[Page 117 STAT. 770]]
(8) The World Health Assembly has allowed observers to
participate in the activities of the organization, including the
Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974, the Order of Malta,
and the Holy See in the early 1950s.
(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 the 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 his 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 his
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.
(b) Plan.--The Secretary of State is authorized--
(1) to initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain
observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit of the
World Health Assembly in May 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland; and
(2) to instruct the United States delegation to Geneva to
implement that plan.
[[Page 117 STAT. 771]]
(c) Report.--Not <<NOTE: Deadline.>> later than 14 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a
report to Congress in unclassified form describing the action taken
under subsection (b).
Approved May 29, 2003.
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY--S. 243 (H.R. 441):
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CONGRESSIONAL RECORD, Vol. 149 (2003):
May 1, considered and passed Senate.
May 14, considered and passed House.
WEEKLY COMPILATION OF PRESIDENTIAL DOCUMENTS, Vol. 39 (2003):
May 29, Presidential statement.
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