WHA Approaching: Public Health Professionals Hope to Be Included as Representatives, Oppose China's Suppression
The Taipei Public Health Association expressed support for Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) and opposed China's political suppression. It also called on the government to include the role of public health professionals in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
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- 📰 Published: May 11, 2026 at 22:16
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(Central News Agency reporter Tseng Yi-ning, Taipei, May 11) The 75th World Health Assembly (WHA) will be held in Geneva, Switzerland, on the 18th. The Taipei Public Health Association today stated its support for the government's participation in international affairs and its opposition to China's political suppression of Taiwan. At the same time, it hopes the government will include the role of public health professionals in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
Taipei Public Health Association Chairman Weng Rui-hong stated today via a press release that in the run-up to the World Health Assembly, China has once again opposed Taiwan's participation in WHO-related mechanisms and interfered with the space for public health international cooperation with political rhetoric such as "using health to seek independence." The Taipei Public Health Association expresses serious concern.
Weng Rui-hong stated that public health cooperation is a technical international system centered on risk governance, and its basis for participation should be established on substantive public health capabilities and contributions to health security, rather than political status.
Weng Rui-hong pointed out that the operation of the global health security system requires all members and quasi-members to possess technical participation capabilities and functional integrity of risk information networks to ensure that cross-border health risks can be detected, reported, and collaboratively managed in a timely manner. Therefore, any approach that uses a political framework as a basis for excluding professional participation does not constitute an effective classification standard for the public health governance system and may weaken the overall resilience of the global health security network.
However, Weng Rui-hong also expressed regret that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's external advocacy actions have repeatedly failed to include professional representatives from public health professionals, and believes that this phenomenon reflects that the professional institutional integration within the domestic public health governance system still needs to be strengthened.
According to Weng Rui-hong, public health professionals already have national legal professional status and undertake core tasks such as disease prevention, health promotion, health policy, and risk governance, belonging to the basic composition of the national health security governance system. However, currently, in policy consultation and international participation frameworks, institutional inclusion mechanisms have not yet been formed, resulting in governance functions and professional allocation not being fully aligned.
Regarding the World Health Assembly, Weng Rui-hong stated that he supports the government's active participation in international affairs and opposes China's political suppression. At the same time, he also hopes that the government will take public health professionals seriously and include their institutional representative role in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
The association also called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to explain the institutional design basis for not including public health professionals in international advocacy; it urged the government to review and adjust the public health governance framework to include public health professionals in the formal institutional participation system; and it should establish a regular professional consultation and participation mechanism for public health policies; the institutional representative role of public health professionals should be included in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
The association stated that the core of public health governance lies in maintaining institutional integrity and functional consistency, rather than political boundaries or professional omissions. There should be no participation gaps in global health governance, nor should there be professional vacancies in national public health systems. Only by ensuring that governance takes functional integrity as the sole criterion can public health resilience and health equity truly be achieved. (Editor: Chen Ching-fang) 1150511
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Taipei Public Health Association Chairman Weng Rui-hong stated today via a press release that in the run-up to the World Health Assembly, China has once again opposed Taiwan's participation in WHO-related mechanisms and interfered with the space for public health international cooperation with political rhetoric such as "using health to seek independence." The Taipei Public Health Association expresses serious concern.
Weng Rui-hong stated that public health cooperation is a technical international system centered on risk governance, and its basis for participation should be established on substantive public health capabilities and contributions to health security, rather than political status.
Weng Rui-hong pointed out that the operation of the global health security system requires all members and quasi-members to possess technical participation capabilities and functional integrity of risk information networks to ensure that cross-border health risks can be detected, reported, and collaboratively managed in a timely manner. Therefore, any approach that uses a political framework as a basis for excluding professional participation does not constitute an effective classification standard for the public health governance system and may weaken the overall resilience of the global health security network.
However, Weng Rui-hong also expressed regret that the Ministry of Health and Welfare's external advocacy actions have repeatedly failed to include professional representatives from public health professionals, and believes that this phenomenon reflects that the professional institutional integration within the domestic public health governance system still needs to be strengthened.
According to Weng Rui-hong, public health professionals already have national legal professional status and undertake core tasks such as disease prevention, health promotion, health policy, and risk governance, belonging to the basic composition of the national health security governance system. However, currently, in policy consultation and international participation frameworks, institutional inclusion mechanisms have not yet been formed, resulting in governance functions and professional allocation not being fully aligned.
Regarding the World Health Assembly, Weng Rui-hong stated that he supports the government's active participation in international affairs and opposes China's political suppression. At the same time, he also hopes that the government will take public health professionals seriously and include their institutional representative role in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
The association also called on the Ministry of Health and Welfare to explain the institutional design basis for not including public health professionals in international advocacy; it urged the government to review and adjust the public health governance framework to include public health professionals in the formal institutional participation system; and it should establish a regular professional consultation and participation mechanism for public health policies; the institutional representative role of public health professionals should be included in the framework of national medical representation and international health participation.
The association stated that the core of public health governance lies in maintaining institutional integrity and functional consistency, rather than political boundaries or professional omissions. There should be no participation gaps in global health governance, nor should there be professional vacancies in national public health systems. Only by ensuring that governance takes functional integrity as the sole criterion can public health resilience and health equity truly be achieved. (Editor: Chen Ching-fang) 1150511
Stand with the facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download the Central News Agency "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and videos on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, or publicly transmitted and used without authorization.