COVID-19 and Taiwan’s Bid to Re-enter the WHA: Contexts and Implications

COVID-19 and Taiwan’s Bid to Re-enter the WHA: Contexts and Implications

This article covers the period from when China first reported the outbreak of COVID-19— source unknown—in Wuhan, Hubei on December 31, 2019 to the commencement of the 73rd session of the World Health Assembly (WHA) of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Geneva on May 18 and 19, 2020. It highlights how Taiwan’s success in tackling the COVID-19 outbreak reinforced the Tsai Ing-wen government’s quest for observer status in the WHA and defined its spirited campaign to be invited to the 73rd session of the WHA. The article analyzes the impact of the world approbation Taiwan received for containing the outbreak in cross-Strait relations, Taiwan-US ties and Taiwan’s pragmatic diplomacy with reference to its campaign to secure the invitation. Analyzing the developments in these three thematic areas pertaining to Taiwan’s WHA-WHO cause, it reiterates that universalist values and objectives in the present international order prove ineffectual in the face of power politics. Weaker political entities like Taiwan continue to be squeezed between favorable and unfavorable geopolitical situations. They rely heavily on a favorable geopolitical environment to be heard in the world without any guarantee of success. The Tsai government has succeeded in its bid for the WHA invitation insofar as its objective was to attract international attention towards its predicament vis-à-vis China and sensitize global opinion on the issue of Taiwan’s entry into the WHA. However, Chinese power has prevailed and has not allowed any substantial diplomatic gains for Taiwan. As the ramifications of COVID-19-induced geopolitical developments for the world are yet to be fully revealed, Taiwan should prioritize the consolidation of the gains its pragmatic diplomacy has made in its relations with the US and beyond.