Posted on 04/09/2020 12:19:33 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
Washington (AFP) - The United States on Thursday accused the World Health Organization of putting politics first by ignoring Taiwanese warnings over China's coronavirus outbreak, laying out its case against the UN body.
The State Department said the WHO was too late in sounding the alarm over COVID-19, showed too much deference to China and questioned why it did not pursue a lead from Taiwan.
Taiwan, which has succeeded in preventing a major outbreak despite its proximity and ties to China, warned the WHO on December 31 of human-to-human transmission, Vice President Chen Chien-Jen has said.
Chen, an epidemiologist, told the Financial Times that Taiwanese doctors had learned that colleagues in Wuhan, the Chinese metropolis and virus epicenter, were falling ill but that the WHO did not work to confirm the finding.
The United States is "deeply disturbed that Taiwan's information was withheld from the global health community, as reflected in the WHO's January 14, 2020 statement that there was no indication of human-to-human transmission," a State Department spokesperson said.
"The WHO once again chose politics over public health," she said, criticizing the WHO for denying Taiwan even observer status since 2016.
The State Department also took the WHO to task for initially faulting Trump's ban on travelers from China, saying its position had "global consequences" in delaying action.
(Excerpt) Read more at france24.com ...
WHO to Taiwan: “Who?”
This forces WHO to acknowledge Taiwan!
Goals of second term.
Establish US Embassy in Taiwan and Taiwan Embassy in US.
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