Information sharing on COVID-19：WHO針對台灣的聲明？

【縛雞之見】

With the title “Information sharing on COVID-19,” a general title that people ignore easily, WHO replied the question concerning the membership of Taiwan.

The question was raised by the host of "The Pulse," a program of the Radio Television Hong Kong, in an interview of Bruce Aylward, the heard of the Joint International Mission to China.  Aylward was so embarrassed that he had to cut the line because he could not answer the question.

The curious part is that the WHO used “Taiwanese” six times, except one, instead of “Chinese Taipei” as it always did, in the statement later.

What might that imply?  What Taiwan government, or worse, what Beijing has done to make things this way?

Information sharing on COVID-19   WHO 20200329

https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/29-03-2020-information-sharing-on-covid-19

WHO’s focus at all times is to ensure that all areas of the globe have the information they need to manage the health of their people.  In a recent interview, the WHO official who headed the joint international mission to China, did not answer a question on Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 outbreak.

The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff.  However, WHO is working closely with all health authorities who are facing the current coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwanese health experts.

The Taiwanese caseload is low relative to population.  We continue to follow developments closely.  WHO is taking lessons learned from all areas, including Taiwanese health authorities, to share best practices globally.

With respect to the COVID-19 outbreak, the WHO Secretariat works with Taiwanese health experts and authorities, following established procedures, to facilitate a fast and effective response and ensure connection and information flow.

There is a Taiwanese International Health Regulations Point of Contact, who receives IHR (2005) communications and has access to the Event Information Site (EIS) Platform (a password-protected database and information exchange mechanism supporting the IHR (2005)).

The Taiwanese Field Epidemiology Training Program is a member of the Training Programs in Epidemiology and Public Health Interventions Network (also known as “TEPHINET”).  WHO shares Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network alerts and requests for assistance with TEPHINET, and those messages are cascaded to the TEPHINET members.

Two Taiwanese public health experts participated in the Global Research and Innovation Forum organized by WHO on 11-12 February 2020, thus contributing, alongside other world scientists, including from mainland China, to critical research questions and to finding ways to work together to advance the response.

WHO staff work around the world to respond to this pandemic with the best evidence-based guidance and operational support available for all people, based on public health needs.  Membership in WHO and status issues are decided by Member States and the rules they set at WHO’s governing body, the World Health Assembly.

Information about COVID-19 can be found here: https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019

WHO Releases Statement on Taiwan's Membership|WHO聲明：台灣能否參與WHO 會員國決定    公視 20200330

WHO罕見在官網針對台灣發表聲明，強調台灣能否加入世衛組織，取決於會員國，不是工作人員。同時指出，WHO正與所有面對疫情的國家合作，包括台灣。台灣人口相對較少，會持續關注當地疫情發展。WHO正從所有地區汲取防疫經驗，包括台灣當局，以在全球分享最佳做法，還強調會按既有規則，跟所有地區包括台灣，快速互通訊息。

會出現這段聲明，起因香港電台英文台，播出的一段訪問。港台節目"脈搏"的記者，與WHO助理秘書長布魯斯艾爾沃德連線訪問時，問到會不會重新考慮讓台灣加入WHO，得到這種反應。

香港電台記者 vs. WHO助理秘書長 布魯斯艾爾沃德(2020.03.28)：「(WHO會重新考慮讓台灣加入嗎？) 哈囉，不好意思，我聽不到你的問題。(OK，我重複一遍。」 不，沒關係，換一題吧！」

布魯斯艾爾沃德先愣了幾秒，說聽不到，接著更斷線。記者重新連線後繼續追問，布魯斯艾爾沃德卻回答，中國的情況說過很多次，真的做得很好，就草草結束訪問。

香港電台記者 vs. WHO助理秘書長 布魯斯艾爾沃德(2020.03.28)：「我們已經談過中國，你知道，當你看到，中國所有不同地區，他們真的做得很棒。」

這段訪問引發軒然大波，有民眾譏笑，WHO一聽到台灣就傻了，也有人抨擊WHO真的是政治凌駕專業。中國官媒則反擊，訪問的女記者居心叵測。而WHO罕見發表聲明澄清，全文都用"台灣"稱呼我國。受訪的布魯斯艾爾沃德目前沒有回應。他先前多次稱讚中國防疫能力，還講過全世界都欠武漢人，如果自己感染，希望在中國治療。