Only Taiwan's democratically elected government can represent its people on the world stage, not China, its foreign ministry said on Tuesday, calling on the World Health Organization to "cast off" China's control during the coronavirus pandemic.
Taiwan's exclusion from WHO, due to China's objections which considers the island one of its provinces, has infuriated Taipei, which says this has created a dangerous gap in the global fight against the coronavirus.
Taiwan has been lobbying to attend, as an observer, this month's meeting of the WHO's decision-making body, the World Health Assembly, although government and diplomatic sources say China will block the move.