时论广场》台湾参与WHA的取暖大会（方恩格 Ross Darrell Feingold）

图为第72届世界卫生大会在瑞士日内瓦万国宫开幕。（中新社）

再一次，台湾努力争取以观察员身分参加世界卫生大会（WHA）。像往常一样，同情台湾的国家政府要么发表其外交声明，要么像美国——通过立法，由国会通过决议案。

此外，美国、澳大利亚、英国、加拿大和日本驻台代表处发表联合声明，支持台湾以观察员身分参与世卫大会。这些驻台代表处的作态，和2021年大陆禁止进口台湾凤梨时一样，他们在社交媒体上发布工作人员吃凤梨的视频和照片，让此间政界人士、媒体、和一些台湾人感到兴奋，但通常不会改变政治现实。

台湾「世卫行动团」在瑞士，将在世界卫生大会期间于会外举行会议。过去几年，笔者多次指出，包括「行动代表团」在实际会议外的这些作为，都是「取暖」，台湾应该停止这些努力，因为某些现实没有改变。

世界卫生大会和世界卫生组织广受批评，包括中国对它的影响力、世卫组织对新冠疫情爆发的反应迟钝、庞大且无效的官僚体制、秘书长谭德塞过去和最近涉入衣索比亚政治，以及世界卫生组织提议缔结的「全球流行病条约」。

台湾与澳大利亚、加拿大、日本、美国和英国等最重要的合作伙伴就公共卫生问题保持着良好的沟通。台湾以观察员身分出席世界卫生大会所能取得的成就，已无法超越与这些国家的双边沟通。

当然，中国的影响力确保目前台湾不会受邀以观察员身分出席，尤其是如果蔡政府不以「中华台北」的名义参与，或者有必要以同意「九二共识」为前提。

奇怪的是，国民党试图讨好美国国务卿，用英文发推文感谢布林肯发表支持台湾以观察员身分参加WHA的声明。国民党的推文省略了它是否支持以「中华台北」的名义并根据「九二共识」以观察员身分参加WHA，就像马英九政府时期那样。或许国民党希望外国政府和媒体相信国民党不再支持九二共识。

鉴于最近台湾疫情的病例增加，如果台湾认为基于怜悯的外交政策是一种制胜策略，今年参与WHA的努力可能会强调台湾需要更多世界卫生组织的帮助，而不是强调那个「Taiwan Can Help」。但是，这与台湾是「防疫模范生」的说法不一致。

如果川普总统在2020年赢得连任，并赓续美国退出世界卫生组织的政策，蔡英文政府很可能会停止作为世界卫生大会观察员的努力。如果共和党赢得2024年美国总统大选，这可能会在2025年发生。同时，台湾不必像拜登政府那样热衷于世界卫生组织，而是可以考虑自己的政策，而不是再次的到处乞怜或取暖。（作者为前美国共和党亚太区主席）

英文全文：

Taiwan’s 2022 World Health Assembly Pity Party

By Ross Darrell Feingold

Former Asia Chairman, Republicans Abroad

Twitter: @RossFeingold

Once again, Taiwan is making its annual effort to participate in the World Health Assembly as an observer. As usual governments of countries sympathetic to Taiwan either issue statements from their foreign ministries or in the case of the United States pass into law legislation, and parliaments pass resolutions.

In addition, representative offices in Taiwan of the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Japan issued a joint statement to support Taiwan’s participation as an observer. Such a gesture by representative offices in Taiwan is similar to how some of these offices posted videos and photos on their social media of their staff with Taiwan pineapples when the mainland imposed a ban on imports of Taiwan pineapples in 2021. It excites some politicians, media, and people in Taiwan, but usually does not alter political realities.

Taiwan’s “action delegation” is in Switzerland and will have meetings on the sidelines of the World Health Assembly. In years past, this author has frequently opined that such efforts, including the meetings by the Taiwan delegation on the sidelines of the actual World Health Assembly, amount to a “pity party”, and that Taiwan should cease these efforts.

This is because certain realities remain unchanged.

Critics of the World Health Assembly and the World Health Organization have valid concerns about China’s influence, the World Health Organization’s slow response to the Covid-19 outbreak, the World Health Organization’s large and sometimes ineffectual bureaucracy, Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ past and recent involvement in Ethiopian politics, and the World Health Organization’s proposed global pandemic treaty.

Taiwan maintains excellent communication about public health issues with its most important partners such as Australia, Canada, Japan, the United States, and the United Kingdom. There is little more Taiwan can achieve by attending the World Health Assembly as an observer that Taiwan cannot already achieve via bilateral communication with such countries.

And of course, China’s influence ensures for now that Taiwan will not be invited to attend as an observer, especially if the Tsai Administration will not do so under the name “Chinese Taipei” or if it is necessary to first agree to the 1992 Consensus.

Oddly, the Kuomintang tried to ingratiate itself with United States Secretary of State by tweeting in English a thank you for the statement made by Secretary of State Blinken that supports Taiwan attending the World Health Assembly as an observer. The Kuomintang tweet omits whether it supports attending the World Health Assembly as an observer under the name “Chinese Taipei” and on the basis of the 1992 Consensus, as what occurred during the Ma Ying-jeou administration. Perhaps the Kuomintang wants foreign governments and media to believe the Kuomintang no longer supports the 1992 Consensus.

Given the recent increase in Covid-19 cases in Taiwan, and if Taiwan believes a foreign policy based on pity is a winning strategy, this year’s effort to participate in the World Health Assembly could emphasize Taiwan needs more World Health Organization help, rather than emphasize that #TaiwanCanHelp. However, this would be inconsistent with the message that Taiwan is a “model student” in managing Covid-19.

Had President Donald Trump won re-election in 2020, and continued the United States withdrawal from the World Health Organization, it is likely that President Tsai Ing-wen’s government would have ceased efforts to be an observer at the World Health Assembly. Perhaps this will occur in 2025 should a Republican win the 2024 United States presidential election. In the meantime, Taiwan need not share the Biden Administration’s enthusiasm for the World Health Organization, and instead, Taiwan can consider its own policy rather than again seek pity.