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UNITED
STATES SENATE WASHINGTON, DC 20520
May 1, 2002
The
Honorable Colin Powell
U.S.
Department of State
2201
C Street, N.W.
Washington,
DC 20520
Dear
Mr. Secretary:
We
are writing with regard to the upcoming World Health Assembly
meeting in Geneva, and, specifically, the Administration's
policy toward Taiwan's participation in the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Public
Law 107-158, which amended Public Law 107-10, authorized
you to initiate a plan to endorse and obtain observer status
for Taiwan at the upcoming World Health Assembly meeting.
Pursuant to that requirement, the State Department submitted
to the Chairman of the House International Relations Committee
a report on the U.S. plan. While the report expresses support
for increasing Taiwan's participation in the WHO, and concludes
that the United States remains committed to working with
Taiwan to achieve that objective, we are disappointed that
it does not more clearly articulate a plan aimed at doing
so.
We
believe that the people of Taiwan deserve access to the
highest standards of health information and services. And,
given the growing threat of bioterrorism, it is imperative
that vital information can be made universally available.
We see no reason why Taiwan should continue to be excluded
from having the same benefits as non-state entities (such
as the Palestinian Authority) with observer status in the
WHO. As Mr. James Kelly, Assistant Secretary of State for
East Asian and Pacific Affairs, stated in testimony to the
House International Relations Committee, "There are
many non-state entities with observership in the World Health
Organization. That is something really that I think Taiwan
could in fact add to measurably." We couldn't agree
more.
We
believe that it is important for the United States to take
the lead on this issue. As such, we urge the Administration
to take a more vigorous, concrete approach to supporting
observer status for Taiwan. We respectfully request that,
prior to the May World Health Assembly meeting, you publicly
endorse Taiwan's observership in the WHO, and that the United
States actively encourage other WHO member states to support
observership for Taiwan.
Thank
you in advance for your timely consideration of this matter.
Sincerely,
Robert
Torricelli (D-NJ), Jon Kyl (R-AZ), George
Allen(R-VA), Bill
Frist (R-TN), Patrick
Leahy (D-VT)
Mary
Landrieu (D-LA), Jim Bunning (R-KY), Frank Murkowski (R-AK),Sam
Brownback (R-KS)
John
Rockefeller (R-WV), Bob
Smith(R-NH), Don Nickles (R-OK),
John McCain(R-AZ)
Jeff
Sessions (R-AL),
Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Trent
Lott(R-TN), Barbara Mikulski
(D-MD)
Peter
Fitzgerald (R-IL),
Mike DeWine (R-OH), Daniel
Akaka(D-HI), Kent Conrad(D-ND)
Susan
Collins (R-ME),
Jeff Bingaman(D-NM), Mark Dayton (D-MN),
Tim Johnson (D-SD)
John
Warner (R-VA), Byron Dorgan (D-ND), Orrin Hatch(R-UT),
Robert Bennett (R-UT)
Wayne
Allard (R-CO), Conrad Burns(R-MT),
Pat Roberts(R-KS), James
Inhofe(R-OK)
Craig
Thomas (R-WY),
James Jeffords (R-VT), Maria
Cantwell (D-WA), Larry Craig(R-ID)
Zell
Miller (D-GA)
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