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Margaret Chan, MD
Director General, WHO
Avenue Appia 20
CH- 1211 Geneva 27
Switzerland
Petition to Support Taiwanese Journalists’ Right to Report the WHA
The World Health Assembly (WHA), held every May in Geneva, Switzerland, has disqualified Taiwanese journalists’ right to report by refusing to issue media accreditations since 2004. We protest the way the United Nations (UN) and the World Health Organization (WHO) are treating Taiwanese journalists.
According to Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” According to the universal value of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, we require:
- Rights to know and press freedoms should be without borders. Even though Taiwan is not one of the members of the WHO, we ask the UN and the WHO to respect the right, which is secured by Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and offer Taiwanese journalists the right to report.
- The WHO’s objective, as set out in its Constitution, is the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health. It makes not the slightest difference which nations they belong to or whether the countries are members of the UN or not.
Therefore, as an advocate of equal human rights for all peoples, the UN and the WHO should respect the third article of the International Health Regulations: “The implementation of these Regulations should be guided by the goal of their universal application for the protection of all people of the world from the international spread of disease.” And regard rights of access to health and information for the 23 million people of Taiwan seriously.
- News workers should be regarded as independent individuals, not the delegation of a country or an area. Regardless of whether China is trying to oppress Taiwan or not, journalists’ newsgathering should not be sacrificed for any international political causes.
We require the Taiwanese journalists’ right to report should be respected and make an earnest appeal to the UN and the WHO: Let the newsgathering return to what it is supposed to be and do not hurt the irreplaceable freedom of the press and independent spirit by political intervention.
Yours sincerely,
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Total Signatures to Date = 6
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