時論廣場》臺灣參與WHA的取暖大會（方恩格 Ross Darrell Feingold）

圖爲第72屆世界衛生大會在瑞士日內瓦萬國宮開幕。（中新社）

再一次，臺灣努力爭取以觀察員身分參加世界衛生大會（WHA）。像往常一樣，同情臺灣的國家政府要麼發表其外交聲明，要麼像美國——通過立法，由國會通過決議案。

此外，美國、澳大利亞、英國、加拿大和日本駐臺代表處發表聯合聲明，支持臺灣以觀察員身分參與世衛大會。這些駐臺代表處的作態，和2021年大陸禁止進口臺灣鳳梨時一樣，他們在社交媒體上發佈工作人員吃鳳梨的視頻和照片，讓此間政界人士、媒體、和一些臺灣人感到興奮，但通常不會改變政治現實。

臺灣「世衛行動團」在瑞士，將在世界衛生大會期間於會外舉行會議。過去幾年，筆者多次指出，包括「行動代表團」在實際會議外的這些作爲，都是「取暖」，臺灣應該停止這些努力，因爲某些現實沒有改變。

世界衛生大會和世界衛生組織廣受批評，包括中國對它的影響力、世衛組織對新冠疫情爆發的反應遲鈍、龐大且無效的官僚體制、秘書長譚德塞過去和最近涉入衣索比亞政治，以及世界衛生組織提議締結的「全球流行病條約」。

臺灣與澳大利亞、加拿大、日本、美國和英國等最重要的合作伙伴就公共衛生問題保持着良好的溝通。臺灣以觀察員身分出席世界衛生大會所能取得的成就，已無法超越與這些國家的雙邊溝通。

當然，中國的影響力確保目前臺灣不會受邀以觀察員身分出席，尤其是如果蔡政府不以「中華臺北」的名義參與，或者有必要以同意「九二共識」爲前提。

奇怪的是，國民黨試圖討好美國國務卿，用英文發推文感謝布林肯發表支持臺灣以觀察員身分參加WHA的聲明。國民黨的推文省略了它是否支持以「中華臺北」的名義並根據「九二共識」以觀察員身分參加WHA，就像馬英九政府時期那樣。或許國民黨希望外國政府和媒體相信國民黨不再支持九二共識。

鑑於最近臺灣疫情的病例增加，如果臺灣認爲基於憐憫的外交政策是一種制勝策略，今年參與WHA的努力可能會強調臺灣需要更多世界衛生組織的幫助，而不是強調那個「Taiwan Can Help」。但是，這與臺灣是「防疫模範生」的說法不一致。

如果川普總統在2020年贏得連任，並賡續美國退出世界衛生組織的政策，蔡英文政府很可能會停止作爲世界衛生大會觀察員的努力。如果共和黨贏得2024年美國總統大選，這可能會在2025年發生。同時，臺灣不必像拜登政府那樣熱衷於世界衛生組織，而是可以考慮自己的政策，而不是再次的到處乞憐或取暖。（作者爲前美國共和黨亞太區主席）

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.