The U.S. Senate unanimously approved a bill seeking the restoration of Taiwan’s observer status with the World Health Organization, escalating an international campaign to push back against Chinese efforts to isolate the island.
The bipartisan measure calls on the State Department to report about Taiwan’s participation as an observer at the World Health Assembly (WHA) — a key WHO decision-making body set to meet next week. The bill, which hasn’t yet been passed by the U.S. House, would also direct Secretary of State Michael Pompeo to explain any department plans to help Taipei reclaim its observer status.
The Senate vote Monday is part of a push by China’s critics in the U.S. and elsewhere to use the coronavirus pandemic to strengthen Taiwan’s official and unofficial diplomatic relationships. Beijing, which considers island part of its territory, has blocked its participation in the WHO since Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen was elected in 2016 and refused to accept that both belong to "one China.”