Nation opposes US bill on Taiwan
( 2003-05-16 09:31 ) (1)

Answering a question on US Congress' passage of a bill to support Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as an observer, Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Zhang Qiyue said Thursday at a regular press conference that China strongly opposed the bill and had already protested to the US side.

Taiwan, as a province of China, is ineligible to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO), an organization open only to sovereign states, nor is it eligible to attend the WHA as an observer, Zhang said.

Co-operation and communication across the Taiwan Straits has been smooth since the outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) in Taiwan and the Chinese central government attaches great importance to and is concerned about the health and safety of Taiwanese compatriots, Zhang said.

The central government supports the WHO's sending of an expert group to Taiwan and the channel for health information is smooth for Taiwan, Zhang added.

Taiwan authorities are playing "political tricks'' taking advantage of SARS, trying to create "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan," Zhang said.

The US Government should recognize the political motive of the Taiwan authorities and stick to its commitments in the three Sino-US joint communiques, Zhang said.