TAIWAN CAN HELP
2024
In 2024, we collaborated with Twrl Milk Tea, a San Francisco based, women-founded food & beverage company and Taiwanese American illustrator Eugenia Yoh on a new special-edition can design for an “Inclusivi-tea” campaign for its best-selling Taiwan Style Black Milk Tea. Inspired by the founders’ Taiwanese and Chinese heritage and the Federation’s shared commitment to multi-generational community building, this collaboration aims to amplify Taiwan, the birthplace of bubble milk tea, through meaningful storytelling. The packaging also includes a QR code linking to a landing page that introduces Taiwan to a new audience.
The special-edition cans will be distributed nationally through Twrl Milk Tea’s retail partners including Whole Foods, Sprouts, Wegmans, World Market, and Central Market. It will also be available at community activations throughout the month of May through the Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California and other community partners like the Formosan Association for Public Affairs.
The community activation aims to send a thousand individual messages of support for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Organization to the United Nations office in New York. Through integration with local Taiwanese American events and broader community events for AAPI month, we invite friends of all ages and background to articulate their own reasons for advocacy. Many shared that they’ve heard about Taiwan’s remarkable leadership during the pandemic and were dismayed to learn that despite reaching out and helping so many countries, Taiwan remains excluded from the WHO.
The 2024 postcards also feature illustrations commissioned from Taiwanese American illustrator Eugenia Yoh.
2023
In 2023, we crowdfunded to place a color ad in the Washington Post to protest Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Organization. The print design, with an illustration commissioned from Taiwanese American artist Alicia Chen, was also sent as a postcard to over a hundred US political leaders.
[FROM THE ARCHIVES; CROWDFUNDING CAMPAIGN HAS CONCLUDED]
挺台灣進世衛，支持台灣加入國際衛生組織
我們懇切呼籲世界衛生組織（WHO）秉持專業、中立之原則，拒絕不當政治干擾，完整接納台灣參與WHA相關會議、活動與機制。近年來，台灣模式防疫的成功經驗已經獲得全球80餘國、超過1700名國會議員公開呼籲WHO接納台灣。傳染病無國界，國際健康衛生議題必須由全球各國共同參與，台灣不應被排除在外，成為潛在漏洞或防疫破口。
全球資料庫網站Numbeo每年公布醫療保健指數（Health Care Index），台灣從2018年起已經連續6年居全球之冠。台灣有建構完善的醫療及防疫體系，加上國際級的醫衛實力，應該被納入全球公共衛生及防疫體系，得以對國際醫衞及防疫合作做出貢獻。
北加州台灣同鄉聯合會將在5/20在華盛頓郵報刊登廣告，寄望在5/20世界衛生大會上，WHO成員可以看見台灣，讓台灣共同為全球的人民健康福祉一起努力。
#LetTaiwanHelp
In the past few years, leaders around the world have participated in a #LetTaiwanHelp campaign to advocate for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly. We are proud and grateful that they have recognized Taiwan’s capacity for and demonstration of good global citizenship, particularly in healthcare and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California would like to add our appeal to the World Health Organization, as members of the Taiwanese diaspora. This year, we are crowdfunding to purchase a full-color advertisement in the Washington Post to bring more attention to Taiwan’s exclusion from the World Health Assembly and the risk this political bullying poses to us all. The advertisement will feature art we have commissioned by Taiwanese American Alicia Chen.
“We cope with natural disasters by working together. But we create political tragedies when we make decisions about who matters, and who doesn’t; about who should be helped and who gets left behind; about who can help and who is shut out. We cannot avoid natural disasters. But we can make better human decisions.”
We know movements like this can take a lifetime to achieve, but we will persist in our conviction that #TaiwanCanHelp and our contributions should be recognized and shared more widely. Taiwan deserves full participation in the World Health Assembly, and we as global citizens deserve a World Health Organization that fully realizes its vision of health as a basic human right, and health for all without political exception.
In April 2021, leaders around the world participated in a #LetTaiwanHelp campaign to advocate for Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly this year. We are proud and grateful that they are recognizing Taiwan’s capacity for and demonstration of good global citizenship, particularly in healthcare and addressing the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Taiwanese American Federation of Northern California would like to add their own appeal to the World Health Organization, from members of the Taiwanese diaspora:
“We cope with natural disasters by working together. But we create political tragedies when we make decisions about who matters, and who doesn’t; about who should be helped and who gets left behind; about who can help and who is shut out. We cannot avoid natural disasters. But we can make better human decisions.”
LEARN MORE:
Who can isolate Taiwan? No one.
Because we are here to help.
https://taiwancanhelp.us/
Taiwan Can Help – Aaron Nieh, Chih-Chyi Chang, KJ Chang, Ray Du, and Zuyi Lin
We are a group of people from Taiwan and around the world who recognize Taiwan’s contributions to global public health and the fight against COVID-19.
On April 9th, Mr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO), publicly stated that Taiwan has made a racist attack on him personally. We are very sorry to hear that, and decided clarifications are needed desperately.
To clarify effectively, we have gathered more than 26,980 sponsors from Taiwan and the world in 15 hours through Zeczec, a crowdfunding platform. We hope to make our voices heard in the media to show that even though Taiwan has been unfairly judged and isolated, we still look forward to working together with the world to face the pandemic through the sharing of resources, technology, and experience.
A full-page ad in the New York Times [in 2020] was our first step. We will make the resources in this roundup available to our partners in need worldwide. We might not be a member of the WHO, but we are a member of the world.
The worldwide spread of COVID-19 has once again shown that disease knows no borders and that no gaps should exist in the global epidemic prevention network. Working on the frontline against COVID-19, Taiwan has been widely recognized by the international community for its advance preparations and actions. While prioritizing the needs of Taiwanese at home and abroad, the government has also been ready and willing to use its excess capacity to contribute to international epidemic prevention efforts.
Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Under bilateral and multilateral frameworks, Taiwan has joined hands with international partners to help contain the outbreak, highlighting its role as a force for good in the world.
Taiwan has been proactive in pursuing international cooperation and extending humanitarian assistance. For example, Taiwan and the US issued a Joint Statement on a Partnership against Coronavirus on March 18, 2020, demonstrating a shared determination to combat the pandemic, cooperate on the research and development of vaccines, and share best practices. Taiwan’s Academia Sinica held a videoconference with officials from the European Union to explore cooperation on the development of rapid testing kits and vaccines. In addition, Taiwan has donated more than 50 million medical masks since April, 2020. Taiwan supports frontline medical personnel as they fight the pandemic in more than 80 countries that have been severely affected, including the US, European nations, diplomatic allies, New Southbound Policy partner countries, Japan, and a number of African and Middle Eastern nations. In order to jointly overcome the challenges posed by the pandemic, Taiwan will deliver even more assistance to the international community in the form of medical supplies, medicine, and technology, as long as domestic needs continue to be fully met.
Taiwan has not been invited to the World Health Assembly since 2017. Taiwan’s inclusion would make the world healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable.
Dr. Hsueh Jui-yuan, Minister of Health and Welfare | The Diplomat
Taiwan is willing and able to share its experience in creating a cross-sectoral, innovative, and people-centered health approach to help the international community work toward the realization of the SDGs related to health and well-being.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taiwan effectively mitigated the spread of the disease, leveraging its comprehensive public healthcare system, well-trained anti-pandemic personnel, and epidemiological surveillance, investigation, and analysis systems. Taiwan’s anti-pandemic response model included advance deployment and rapid response mechanisms. Other measures included border control policies, coordinated distribution of medical resources, and a patient transfer system to prevent and contain the pandemic at a time when vaccines and antiviral drugs were unavailable.
The Taiwanese people have played a pivotal role in the success of Taiwan’s anti-pandemic model by wearing masks, practicing social distancing, avoiding crowded areas, following quarantine regulations, and getting vaccinated. When compared with the 38 Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development member states and Singapore, Taiwan ranks sixth-lowest in COVID-19 mortality and case-fatality rates. Taiwan also ranks fourth-highest for coverage rates of at least one COVID-19 vaccine dose and third-highest in terms of vaccine boosters administered.
Taiwan established a universal healthcare insurance system in 1995. Since that time, the government has continued to provide disease prevention and healthcare services so that people of all ages can enjoy the right to health. Taiwan provides prenatal checkups, gestational diabetes screening, anemia testing, and three ultrasound examinations to reduce pregnancy risks and promote maternal and infant health. To assist infertile couples and reduce the financial burdens of in-vitro fertilization, the government has continued to expand subsidized infertility treatment programs. Taiwan also aims to create a breastfeeding-friendly environment and provide preventive pediatric healthcare and health education.
Taiwan has not been invited to the World Health Assembly since 2017. Now that the COVID-19 pandemic is abating and dialogue on strengthening health systems worldwide is accelerating, Taiwan should not be left out. Taiwan can help, and Taiwan’s inclusion would make the world healthier, more sustainable, and more equitable.
Taiwan urges the WHO and all relevant stakeholders to support Taiwan’s inclusion in the World Health Assembly as an observer, as well as Taiwan’s full participation in WHO meetings, mechanisms, and activities. Taiwan will continue to work with the world to help ensure the fundamental right to health enshrined in the WHO Constitution. In the spirit of the SDGs, no country should be left behind – especially not Taiwan, which has made significant contributions to global public health.
Transparent, vibrant, and innovative democracies like Taiwan always respond faster and more effectively to pandemics than do authoritarian regimes.
Michael R. Pompeo, 2020 U.S. Secretary of State
The PRC’s spiteful action to silence Taiwan exposes the emptiness of its claims to want transparency and international cooperation to fight the pandemic, and makes the difference between China and Taiwan ever more stark. Taiwan is a model world citizen, while the PRC continues to withhold vital information about the virus and its origins, deny access to their scientists and relevant facilities, censor discussion of the pandemic within China and on Chinese social media properties, and casts blame widely and recklessly.
Global health and global health security challenges do not respect borders nor recognize political disputes. Taiwan offers valuable contributions and lessons learned from its approach to these issues, and WHO leadership and all responsible nations should recognize that excluding the interests of 24 million people at the WHA serves only to imperil, not advance, our shared global health objectives.
Anthony J. Blinken, U.S. Secretary of State
There is no reasonable justification for Taiwan’s continued exclusion from this forum, and the United States calls upon the WHO Director-General to invite Taiwan to participate as an observer at the WHA – as it has in previous years, prior to objections registered by the government of the People’s Republic of China.
Global health and global health security challenges do not respect borders nor recognize political disputes. Taiwan offers valuable contributions and lessons learned from its approach to these issues, and WHO leadership and all responsible nations should recognize that excluding the interests of 24 million people at the WHA serves only to imperil, not advance, our shared global health objectives.
Taiwan is a reliable partner, a vibrant democracy, and a force for good in the world, and its exclusion from the WHA would be detrimental to our collective international efforts to get the pandemic under control and prevent future health crises. We urge Taiwan’s immediate invitation to the World Health Assembly.