US to withhold funding until WHO can fulfill its duty: White House

白宮表示美國將在世衛組織履行職責前凍結資金

US halts WHO funding, says organization ignored Taiwan's early warning of human-to-human transmission of COVID-19


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Following U.S. Senator Josh Hawley's introduction of a bill to hold the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) accountable for the damage caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, President Donald Trump on Tuesday (April 14) demanded that the World Health Organization (WHO) be investigated for its attempts to cover up the spread of the deadly coronavirus.

During a White House press conference on Tuesday, Trump announced the U.S. government was halting funding to the WHO, which he believes has failed in its basic duties. He said the WHO should be held responsible for the "tremendous death and economic devastation" worldwide since it had not been truthful and transparent about the coronavirus since the beginning of the outbreak.

Trump pointed out that American taxpayers provide close to US$500 million (NT$15 billion) to the WHO annually and that the U.S. has the right to "insist on full accountability" with respect to the global health body. He added that a review will be conducted to assess the organization's role in "severely mismanaging" important information about the coronavirus and that it had "put political correctness above life-saving measures," reported the Daily Signal.

On Wednesday (April 15), the White House reaffirmed the move in a press release saying the WHO was biased in favor of the Chinese government, despite the fact that the regime only provided a small fraction of the organization's funding. The release also claimed that the WHO has repeatedly praised China's pandemic response and ignored the seriousness of the situation.

The White House noted that Taiwan had contacted the WHO on Dec. 31 about possible human-to-human transmission of the disease but that it was not taken seriously. It added that many health professionals in the Chinese city of Wuhan had also attempted to raise the alarm but that they were silenced by the CCP.

The White House stressed that the WHO is in need of reform and that the U.S. would not consider resuming its funding until the organization could refocus on fulfilling its core missions.