| One Hundred Sixth Congress
of the
United States of America
AT THE FIRST SESSION
Begun and held at the City of Washington on
Wednesday, the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine
An Act
Concerning the participation of Taiwan in
the World Health Organization (WHO).
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives
of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
- SECTION 1. Concerning the participation of Taiwan
in the World Health Organization (WHO).
- (a) FINDINGS- The Congress makes the following
findings:
- (1) Good health is a basic right for every citizen
of the world and access to the highest standards of health information and services is
necessary to help guarantee this right.
- (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in
international health cooperation forums and programs is therefore crucial, especially with
today's greater potential for the cross-border spread of various infectious diseases such
as AIDS.
- (3) The World Health Organization (WHO) set forth
in the first chapter of its charter the objective of attaining the highest possible level
of health for all people.
- (4) In 1977, the World Health Organization
established `Health For All By The Year 2000' as its overriding priority and reaffirmed
that central vision with the initiation of its `Health For All' renewal process in 1995.
- (5) Taiwan's population of 21,000,000 people is
larger than that of three-fourths of the member states already in the World Health
Organization.
- (6) Taiwan's achievements in the field of health
are substantial, including one of the highest life expectancy levels in Asia, maternal and
infant mortality rates comparable to those of western countries, the eradication of such
infectious diseases as cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and the first to be rid of polio
and provide children with free hepatitis B vaccinations.
- (7) The World Health Organization was unable to
assist Taiwan with an outbreak of enterovirus 71 which killed 70 Taiwanese children and
infected more than 1,100 Taiwanese children in 1998.
- (8) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a
willingness to assist financially or technically in WHO-supported international aid and
health activities, but has ultimately been unable to render such assistance.
- (9) The World Health Organization allows observers
to participate in the activities of the organization.
- (10) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Policy
Review, declared its intention to support Taiwan's participation in appropriate
international organizations.
- (11) In light of all of the benefits that Taiwan's
participation in the World Health Organization could bring to the state of health not only
in Taiwan, but also regionally and globally, Taiwan and its 21,000,000 people should have
appropriate and meaningful participation in the World Health Organization.
- (b) REPORT- Not later than January 1, 2000, the
Secretary of State shall submit a report to the Congress on the efforts of the Secretary
to fulfill the commitment made in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review to more actively support
Taiwan's participation in international organizations, in particular the World Health
Organization (WHO).
Speaker
of the House of Representatives.
Vice
President of the United States and
President
of the Senate.
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