World Health Organization countries don't invite Taiwan to annual assembly

GENEVA (Reuters) -Member states of the World Health Organization on Monday rejected a proposal to invite Taiwan to its annual assembly in Geneva after China voiced opposition.

Belize and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, who are among just 12 remaining countries with formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, spoke on behalf of a group of countries who brought a proposal to include it as an observer in this year's WHO meeting.

Saint Vincent described Taiwan's exclusion as "unfair and self-defeating" and Belize's envoy said it "weakens our collective preparedness and response capabilities".

No major Western country spoke for Taiwan or signed the proposal, and the United States, which plans to quit the WHO, left its seat empty.

But China, which regards the democratically governed island of Taiwan as its territory, and Pakistan opposed the motion and the assembly accepted Taiwan's exclusion.

"The proposal openly challenges the authority of the U.N. and the post-war international order," said Chinese Ambassador Chen Xu, who is part of a more than 200-strong Chinese delegation at the meeting.

A Chinese Foreign Ministry statement said Taiwanese authorities' "separatist" stance has led to the loss of a political foundation for its participation in the assembly. It denied that there was any gap in pandemic preparedness due to Taiwan's exclusion, calling that a "political lie".

Between 2009 and 2016, Taiwan attended WHO assembly sessions as an observer under the administration of then-President Ma Ying-jeou, who signed landmark trade and tourism agreements with China.

The question of its participation recurs annually.

Taiwan is excluded from most international organisations because of objections by China.

A delegation from Taiwan campaigned for its inclusion in this year's WHO assembly and a van has been driving through Geneva with images of bubble tea and the Taipei 101 skyscraper.

(Reporting by Emma Farge; additional reporting by Olivia Le Poidevin in Geneva, Ethan Wang in Beijing and Ben Blanchard in Taipei; editing by Rachel More and Mark Heinrich)

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