Swedish parliamentarians support Taiwan’s WHO bid

STOCKHOLM (TVBS News) — The Swedish-Taiwanese Parliamentary Association (STPA) held a seminar on Wednesday (April 24) to discuss Taiwan's participation in the World Health Organization (WHO). Representative to Switzerland Gu Ruey-sheng was invited to attend and deliver a speech, calling for support for Taiwan.

The seminar was chaired by STPA Chairwoman Boriana Åberg and featured speakers including Joar Forssell, a member of the Swedish Foreign Affairs Committee and spokesperson for the Liberal Party, Birger Forsberg, a health committee member and public health professor from the Åland Islands of Finland, and Henrik Lars Barvå, political editor of the Swedish newspaper NWT.

The seminar attracted nearly 20 members of parliament and parliamentary administrative staff from four major Swedish political parties. The speakers, from various fields, expressed their dissatisfaction with Taiwan's long-standing inability to join the WHO due to political interference from China.

The seminar also discussed Taiwan's history of participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA), the operating mechanism of the WHA, and whether there are solutions to Taiwan's membership issue, demonstrating the Swedish parliamentarians' concern and support for Taiwan's participation in the WHO.

STPA Chairwoman Åberg stated that the WHO needs Taiwan and vowed to support Taiwan's participation in the WHO.

In his speech, Representative Gu pointed out that despite the WHO's charter explicitly stating that the enjoyment of health should not be affected by political, racial, religious, and other factors, the international community still excluded Taiwan from participating in the WHO for political reasons during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Taiwan is unable to provide virus monitoring information to other countries through the WHO's Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) and is not included in the Global Digital Health Certification Network (GDHCN), thus being excluded from negotiations under the WHO's epidemic agreement.

Gu thanked the European Union and the Swedish government for their long-standing support for Taiwan's meaningful participation in the WHO and called for continued advocacy for this issue this year.

The STPA is a pro-Taiwan group officially registered in the Swedish parliament and is one of the most active foreign-friendly groups in the Swedish parliament. Swedish pro-Taiwan parliamentarians will also form a delegation to attend the inauguration ceremony of the 16th President and Vice President of the Republic of China, demonstrating the firm friendship between Taiwan and Sweden.