WMA rejects pressure from China to change name of Taiwan

醫師會拒絕中國施壓改變台灣的名字

China has been pushing name change on World Medical Association


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) - China has long been pushing to have Taiwan listed as a province of China and force the use of the name "Chinese Taipei" at all international events.While China has often gotten its way in the past, it was recently rejected by an organization that represents physicians worldwide, according to a Chinese-language Upmedia report.

Last year, the World Medical Association (WMA) held a congress in Chicago and received threatening messages saying China would refuse to host the 2021 WMA General Assembly unless the Taiwanese delegation changed its name to "Chinese Taipei."

At the event, Victor Wang (王必勝), who represented the Taiwan Medical Association (TMA, 台灣醫師會), sternly stated that the team will not change its name in any case, as "Taiwan is Taiwan." The statement and decision has reportedly won support from other members.

Established in 1947, the WMA is an independent organization, but has working relations with the World Health Organization (WHO), and is committed to supporting the policy and work of the WHO. After becoming a member of the professional confederation, Taiwan has maintained a good relationship with the WMA and hosted one of its assemblies in Taipei in 2016. To coerce WMA into changing the name of Taiwan's delegation, China has reportedly been threatening to terminate its partnership with the WHO and the WMA organization since last year.

Upmedia was told that a decision was made by WMA over international conference calls in late March that the organization will not ask any member to change its name out of respect, meaning that the Taiwan Medical Association will not be forced to change its name.

The WMA is planning to host a council session from April 26-28. Taiwan Medical Association President and DPP lawmaker Chiu Tai-yuan (邱泰源) said that it remains to be seen whether or not the Chinese delegation will once again table a motion of name change targeting Taiwan's delegation, but the organization has made its stance clear in the recent conference calls.