| Publication |
2012.
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| Summary/Abstract |
This article examines the China-Taiwan diplomatic truce through the prism of Taiwan's post-2009 participation in the World Health Organization (WHO). It argues that Taipei's inclusion in the International Health Regulations (IHR) and its observer status at the World Health Assembly (WHA) did not signify a suspension of the cross-Strait dispute over Taipei's capacity to participate in international affairs independently of Beijing. While Taipei ostensibly sought a WHA observership to strengthen Taiwan's health security, it also wished to validate Taiwan's international legal sovereignty. Beijing, for its part, appeared to have compromised its claim over Taiwan's sovereignty by abandoning the diplomatic isolation of Taiwan in international organizations (IGOs), but in practice enforced its sovereign claim by denying Taiwan unrestricted access to activities of the WHO and other IGOs. Thus, China-Taiwan interaction on the WHO issue created a facade of cross-Strait diplomatic détente.
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