Madam Speaker, on May 26, 2003, the 37th Parliament gave direction to the government to express its support for the admission of Taiwan as an observer to the World Health Organization and called upon the government to actively engage other member states and non-governmental organizations to support this goal. That was an explicit direction from the House with a vote of 163 to 67. The majority of Liberal members present at that vote supported the motion, yet when the government dealt with this issue at the WHA a year later, it did not follow Parliament's instruction. Why?
The United Nations established the World Health Organization in 1948. The WHO's stated goal is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. The 1999 Taiwan earthquake initially energized the Taiwan WHO campaign. More than 2,400 people perished in the disaster and roughly 10,000 people were injured. The earthquakes also left some 100,000 of the island's inhabitants homeless.
The outbreak of SARS in Taiwan in March 2003 re-energized the WHO drive because authorities in Beijing, who had allowed the virus to fester while they covered up the extent of the infection for months, initially blocked all efforts by Taiwan to secure assistance from the WHO.
As had happened after the 1999 earthquake, the PRC insisted that all aid must be filtered through the Chinese bureaucracy and suggested that Taipei, in turn, turn to its government, its central government they call it, for assistance. Two months after the initial outbreak, Beijing finally relented and grudgingly agreed to permit the WHO to send a team to Taiwan to investigate the island's deteriorating SARS situation.
We should note that Taiwan seeks only to join the WHO as an observer. The Holy See, Palestine, Sovereign Military Order for Malta, the International Committee of the Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies all enjoy observer status. Taipei is willing to sidestep the thorny statehood issue by applying as a health entity.
Clearly the approved motions of Canada's Parliament do not interfere with Canada's one-China policy but the House has already dealt with this information and passed judgment with 70% of the members voting to instruct the government to urge other WHO member states and non-governmental organizations to admit Taiwan as an observer to the World Health Organization. Canada's Senate also voted in favour of an identical motion. I restate that both chambers of Canada's Parliament spoke unequivocally and the government wilfully ignored explicit direction by Canadian parliamentarians.
In response to my question on October 12, the Minister of Foreign Affairs answered:
Mr. Speaker, it is very important that Parliament express itself. The government has to take its responsibilities and govern the country. This is exactly the kind of democracy we have.
Really? Well what kind of democracy do we have? What is the point of parliamentarians speaking wilfully to a deaf cabinet?
We know PRC officials argue that Taiwan cannot join the WHO because it is not a state, which of course is a specious argument because Taiwan is not seeking to join the WHO as a state. It seeks only to participate as a health entity. Consequently, Beijing's opposition on these grounds makes no sense.
What is it going to take for the Canadian government to reject the bullying by Beijing and reflect the will of Canadian parliamentarians?