To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization, and for other purposes.

IIB 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 353 IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 23 (legislative day, JANUARY 22), 2019 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations AN ACT To direct the Secretary of State to develop a strategy to regain observer status for Taiwan in the World Health Organization, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 HR 353 RFS SECTION 1. PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD 1 HEALTH ORGANIZATION. 2 (a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find- 3 ings: 4 (1) The World Health Organization (WHO) is 5 a specialized agency of the United Nations, charged 6 with coordinating health efforts within the United 7 Nations system. The World Health Assembly 8 (WHA) is the decision-making body of the WHO, 9 which convenes annually in May to set the policies 10 and priorities of the organization. Statehood is not 11 a requirement for attendance at the WHA, and nu- 12 merous observers, including non-members and non- 13 governmental organizations, attended the most re- 14 cent WHA in May 2018. 15 (2) Taiwan began seeking to participate in the 16 WHO as an observer in 1997. In 2009, with strong 17 support from successive United States Administra- 18 tions, Congress, and like-minded WHO Member 19 States, and during a period of improved Cross-Strait 20 relations, Taiwan received an invitation to attend 21 the WHA as an observer under the name ‘‘Chinese 22 Taipei’’. Taiwan received the same invitation each 23 year until 2016, when following the election of Presi- 24 dent Tsai-Ing Wen of the Democratic Progressive 25 Party, Taiwan’s engagement in the international 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 HR 353 RFS community began facing increased resistance from 1 the People’s Republic of China (PRC). Taiwan’s in- 2 vitation to the 2016 WHA was received late and in- 3 cluded new language conditioning Taiwan’s partici- 4 pation on the PRC’s ‘‘one China principle’’. In 2017 5 and 2018, Taiwan did not receive an invitation to 6 the WHA. 7 (3) Taiwan remains a model contributor to 8 world health, having provided financial and technical 9 assistance to respond to numerous global health 10 challenges. Taiwan has invested over $6 billion in 11 international medical and humanitarian aid efforts 12 impacting over 80 countries since 1996. In 2014, 13 Taiwan responded to the Ebola crisis by donating $1 14 million and providing 100,000 sets of personal pro- 15 tective equipment. Through the Global Cooperation 16 and Training Framework, the United States and 17 Taiwan have jointly conducted training programs for 18 experts to combat MERS, Dengue Fever, and Zika. 19 These diseases know no borders, and Taiwan’s need- 20 less exclusion from global health cooperation in- 21 creases the dangers presented by global pandemics. 22 (4) Taiwan’s international engagement has 23 faced increased resistance from the PRC. Taiwan 24 was not invited to the 2016 Assembly of the Inter- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 HR 353 RFS national Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), despite 1 participating as a guest at the organization’s prior 2 summit in 2013. Taiwan’s requests to participate in 3 the General Assembly of the International Criminal 4 Police Organization (INTERPOL) have also been 5 rejected. In May 2017, PRC delegates disrupted a 6 meeting of the Kimberley Process on conflict dia- 7 monds held in Perth, Australia, until delegates from 8 Taiwan were asked to leave. Since 2016, the Demo- 9 cratic Republic of Sa˜o Tome´ and Prı´ncipe, the Re- 10 public of Panama, the Dominican Republic, Burkina 11 Faso, and the Republic of El Salvador have termi- 12 nated longstanding diplomatic relationships with 13 Taiwan and granted diplomatic recognition to the 14 PRC. 15 (5) Congress has established a policy of support 16 for Taiwan’s participation in international bodies 17 that address shared transnational challenges, par- 18 ticularly in the WHO. Congress passed H.R. 1794 19 in the 106th Congress, H.R. 428 in the 107th Con- 20 gress, and S. 2092 in the 108th Congress to direct 21 the Secretary of State to establish a strategy for, 22 and to report annually to Congress on, efforts to ob- 23 tain observer status for Taiwan at the WHA. Con- 24 gress also passed H.R. 1151 in the 113th Congress, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 5 HR 353 RFS directing the Secretary to report on a strategy to 1 gain observer status for Taiwan at the ICAO Assem- 2 bly, and H.R. 1853 in the 114th Congress, directing 3 the Secretary to report on a strategy to gain ob- 4 server status for Taiwan at the INTERPOL Assem- 5 bly. However, since 2016 Taiwan has not received 6 an invitation to attend any of these events as an ob- 7 server. 8 (b) AUGMENTATION OF REPORT CONCERNING THE 9 PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD HEALTH OR- 10 GANIZATION.— 11 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (c) of section 1 12 of Public Law 108–235 (118 Stat. 656) is amended 13 by adding at the end the following new paragraph: 14 ‘‘(3) An account of the changes and improve- 15 ments the Secretary of State has made to the 16 United States plan to endorse and obtain observer 17 status for Taiwan at the World Health Assembly, 18 following any annual meetings of the World Health 19 Assembly at which Taiwan did not obtain observer 20 status.’’. 21 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendment made 22 by paragraph (1) shall take effect and apply begin- 23 ning with the first report required under subsection 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 6 HR 353 RFS (c) of section 1 of Public Law 108–235 that is sub- 1 mitted after the date of the enactment of this Act. 2 Passed the House of Representatives January 22, 2019. Attest: KAREN L. HAAS, Clerk. VerDate Sep 11 2014 20:37 Jan 23, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H353.RFS H353 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS