Canada Publicly Backs Taiwan’s Participation in WHO Meeting

Canada has joined eight other countries in reaffirming support for Taiwan’s participation in the work of the World Health Organization and its annual forum, according to a statement by the British Foreign Office.

The Canadian Trade Office in Taipei signed the statement along with the British, Australian, French, German, Japanese, Lithuanian, New Zealand, and Polish offices on May 21. The statement calls Taiwan’s exclusion from the annual meeting “entirely unjustified.”

Global Affairs Canada (GAC) has not yet released its own copy of the joint statement and Foreign Affairs Minister Anita Anand has not promoted it. When asked if it will release a statement, GAC referred The Epoch Times to a Facebook post from the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei that contains the statement.

Canada’s backing of Taiwan’s participation in World Health Organization (WHO) activities comes as Prime Minister Mark Carney’s government pursues closer ties with Beijing. China opposes Taiwan’s participation in international fora and seeks to bring the self-ruled island under its control.

The statement said the nine countries support Taiwan’s “meaningful participation” in the work of the WHO and Taiwan’s participation as an observer in the World Health Assembly (WHA), an annual forum of 194 member states that serves as the main decision-making body of WHO.

“Taiwan’s meaningful participation in the fora and technical committees of the World Health Organization would bring benefits not just to people in Taiwan, but also around the world,” the document said.

The forum this year, held in Geneva, Switzerland from May 18 to 23, marks the 79th WHA.

The statement said Taiwan is a “highly capable, engaged, and responsible member of the global health community,” noting the island nation was invited to participate in WHA meetings from 2009 to 2016.

However, they noted that as this year’s WHA begins, Taiwan remains “largely excluded” from the global health system. They say global cooperation is required to keep the world safe from infectious diseases and health hazards.

“Taiwan’s isolation from the WHA, the preeminent global health forum, is entirely unjustified,” the signatories said. “This undermines inclusive global public health cooperation and security, which the world demands, and which is enshrined in the founding documents of the WHO.”

The theme of this year’s meeting is “Reshaping Global Health: A Shared Responsibility.”

Canada-Taiwan Relations

Canada-Taiwan relations have received renewed attention in recent months as Carney’s government pursues closer ties with Beijing.

China’s ambassador to Canada, Wang Di, said in an interview with The Globe and Mail in late April that it would be “hurtful” to Canada-China ties if Canadian parliamentarians conduct “any official engagement” with Taiwan. He also said sending navy ships through the Taiwan Strait would be considered “harassment, and even provocation.”

Conservative MP Michael Chong visited Taiwan from May 18 to 21 and met with Taiwanese President Lai Ching-te, along with Taiwanese ministers and officials at the Canadian Trade Office in Taipei, to discuss Canada-Taiwan ties.

Chong said his visit served to “show solidarity with a democracy at the front lines of intimidation” by the Chinese regime, and to “assert Canadian sovereignty” amid the Chinese ambassador’s warning.

“Canada is a sovereign and independent country,” he said in a May 17 statement. “We do not take direction from a foreign government about where Canadian MPs can travel internationally, and where Royal Canadian Navy warships can transit in international waters.”

The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) views self-ruled Taiwan as a breakaway province, despite never having governed the island nation. While the CCP seeks to place Taiwan under Beijing’s rule, Taiwan is pushing back against the CCP’s international pressure campaign.

Countries that want diplomatic relations with Beijing cannot recognize Taiwan as a sovereign entity. Canada has a “One China policy” that does not recognize Taiwan as a state, but maintains economic and cultural ties with the island nation.

After Chong’s arrival in Taiwan, the communist regime repeated its warning about Canadian engagement with Taiwan. A spokesperson for China’s embassy in Ottawa said it opposes any countries maintaining formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan, and that Chong’s visit sent “a wrong message” of support for Taiwan independence.

Earlier this year, Taiwan’s ambassador to Canada, Harry Tseng, said Taiwan was left with the impression that Canada is seeking to improve its relations with China at the expense of its relationship with Taiwan by delaying the signing of a trade cooperation agreement.

Tseng told CBC’s Radio-Canada the agreement between Ottawa and Taipei has been ready to be finalized since April 2025 and is just awaiting the final signature.

Carney said in February that Canada is not “afraid” of having trade relations with Taiwan, but is “focusing on strengthening our trade relations with China.”

The Canadian Press contributed to this report.