On May 18th, the New Zealand Herald published an advertisement sponsored by the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Auckland”, calling for support to Taiwan’s participation in WHO/WHA, which blatantly created the narrative of "one China, one Taiwan" and spread lies that Taiwan could not access timely medical information and database of virus genomes due to its inability to participate in the WHO. The spokesman of the Consulate-General of PRC in Auckland wrote a letter to the New Zealand Herald on this matter.

Only UN Member States are eligible to join WHO, a specialized UN agency composed of sovereign states. Taiwan, being part of China, has no right to apply for WHO membership. Taiwan’s participation in the WHO must be arranged under the one-China principle and through cross-strait consultations. From 2009 to 2016, the Taiwan region participated in the WHA as an observer under the name of "Chinese Taipei" for eight consecutive years. That was a special arrangement WHO and China made in the background of peaceful development of relations across the Taiwan Strait. The one-China principle and cross-strait consultations represent the political foundation for that arrangement. Since the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) came to power in 2016, it has obstinately adhered to the separatist position of "Taiwan independence" and refused to recognize that both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong to one and the same China. As a result, the political foundation for the Taiwan region to participate in WHO has ceased to exist.

As a region, Taiwan's normal contacts and cooperation with WHO have never been affected by whether Taiwan attended the WHA as an observer or not. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, China’s Central Government has attached great importance to the health and well-being of our compatriots in the Taiwan region. We have provided timely notification and assistance to Taiwan in epidemic relief. The channels for Taiwan’s technical cooperation and information exchange with WHO and other countries are unimpeded. As agreed upon by the Chinese government and WHO, a WHO IHR Contact Point has been set up in Taiwan and the region has an account to access the WHO Event Information Site for the timely updates on global public health emergencies released by WHO. With the approval of China’s Central government, the WHO Secretariat has specially notified Taiwan’s health experts of the epidemic on many occasions. Health experts from Taiwan region have participated in the WHO’s meetings of the strategic advisory group of experts on immunization for several times, which allowed their timely access to information about COVID-19 vaccines. There is no so-called "gap in international epidemic prevention system", nor do experts of the Taiwan region lack channels and platforms to share response and control practices with others.

It is also well-known that the bilateral relations between China and New Zealand are based on the one-China principle, and that was clearly stipulated in the official documents on the establishment of diplomatic relations between China and New Zealand. As a mass media with great influence in New Zealand, the New Zealand Herald should not be taken as a platform for spreading lies of Taiwan separatists. In October 2021, the New Zealand Herald published an article sponsored by the “Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Auckland”, which created a misleading delusion of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan" to Kiwis. It is inconsistent with the one-China principle and detrimental to the cause of China’s peaceful reunification as well as the sound development of China-New Zealand relations. In this regard, we express our strong opposition and dissatisfaction, and hope that the New Zealand Herald will attach great importance to the concerns of the Chinese side, tell right from wrong, fully understand the sensitivity of the Taiwan question, refrain from providing a stage for Taiwan separatists and take tangible actions to prevent similar incidents from happening again.

Spokesman

Consulate-General of the People’s Republic of China in Auckland