THE GIST of Editorial for UPSC Exams : 19 May 2020 (The Taiwan question (Indian Express))

The Taiwan question (Indian Express)

Mains Paper 2: International
Prelims level: One China policy
Mains level: Comparison between One India policy with One China policy

Context:

As the World Health Assembly convenes this week virtually, there is a raging political battle over the question of inviting Taiwan to join the discussion as an observer.
The Assembly brings together the ministers from all the member-states of the World Health Organisation.
Proponents point to Taiwan’s success in dealing with the coronavirus and its role in contributing to international cooperation against the COVID challenge.

China’s refusal:

China, however, has been adamant in its refusal to let Taiwan attend the meeting. Taiwan points to the fact that it had participated in WHO meetings from 2009 to 2016.
Chinese position on Taiwan’s participation in the WHO deliberations has changed after a pro-independence party was elected to power in 2016.
Taiwan argues that the WHO should be focused on promoting global health and it should not exclude an important territorial entity on political considerations.

India as Chairman of the executive board:

For Delhi, this is not an abstract debate about Taiwan. India is all set to be elected as the chairman of the executive board of the WHO this week, for the next three years. The board’s responsibility is to advise and facilitate the Assembly’s work.
Taiwan’s participation is likely to come up for discussion at the WHA this week. Many of India’s partners, including the US, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, with whom Delhi has been actively coordinating...........................................

Conclusion:

Delhi has never recognised Taiwan as a separate nation and there is no basis for conflating Taipei’s presence as observer at WHO proceedings with India’s consistent “One China” policy. At the same time, Delhi can’t afford to cede to Beijing a veto over its approach to multilateral issues.
A sensible middle path for India would lie in the apolitical appreciation of the specific technical issues involved and an objective merit-based decision.
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Prelims Questions:

Q1. With reference to the State of the world’s nursing report 2020, consider the following statements:
1. It has been developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in partnership with the International Council of Nurses and the global Nursing Now campaign.
2. The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated 2020 as the “Year of the Nurse and Midwife”, in honour of the 200th birth anniversary of Florence Nightingale, the founder of modern nursing.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

(a) 1 only
(b) 2 only
(c) Both 1 and 2
(d) Neither 1 nor 2