The WHO and Taiwan - The Wall Street Journal

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May 8, 2020 6:54 pm ET

Army representative are seen at the opening of a baseball game with face masks decorated as a Taiwan flag in Taoyuan city, Taiwan, May 7.

Photo: ann wang/Reuters

If Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus thought containing the coronavirus was difficult, the World Health Organization’s top man now faces a political challenge nearly as daunting: restoring WHO’s credibility. WHO was praising China’s “transparency” even as Beijing was silencing whistleblowers, destroying virus samples and spreading disinformation about its origins.

This week Mike Pompeo offered an idea: On Wednesday the Secretary of State called on Dr. Tedros “to invite Taiwan to observe this month’s WHA, as he has the power to do, and as his predecessors have done on multiple occasions.” The reference is to the virtual World Health Assembly that meets May 18-19.

If WHO were driven by purely health concerns, Taiwan would already be included. Taiwanese medical experts were the first to suspect that Covid-19 could be transmitted from human to human—and reported this information to WHO in December 2019. Taiwan also has something to teach the world about how to deal with the virus: Despite its proximity to China, it has seen only 440 cases and six deaths.

Because Taiwan is not a member of the U.N., it cannot be a WHO member. But the director general can invite states to send observers to the World Health Assembly, as has been done for the Vatican, or the assembly can vote on it, as has been done for Palestine. Dr. Tedros seems more preoccupied with waging China’s political wars by denouncing Taiwan and accusing it of launching a racist campaign against him.

Today WHO’s reputation is in tatters, Congress wants an investigation, and President Trump has put a hold on U.S. funding. Inviting Taiwan in will not solve all of WHO’s problems. But it would be a good first step, and a welcome sign it will not subordinate global health needs to Beijing’s political priorities.

Main Street: Partial reopening of the economy wouldn’t be perfect. But it’d be a huge step forward. And Taiwan’s example offers some ideas. Images: AFP/Getty Composite: Mark Kelly

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