[Congressional Bills 106th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1794 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        H.R.1794

                       One Hundred Sixth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

         Begun and held at the City of Washington on Wednesday,
   the sixth day of January, one thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine


                                 An Act


 
Concerning the participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization 
                                 (WHO).

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. CONCERNING THE PARTICIPATION OF TAIWAN IN THE WORLD HEALTH 
              ORGANIZATION (WHO).

    (a) Findings.--The Congress makes the following findings:
        (1) Good health is a basic right for every citizen of the world 
    and access to the highest standards of health information and 
    services is necessary to help guarantee this right.
        (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in international 
    health cooperation forums and programs is therefore crucial, 
    especially with today's greater potential for the cross-border 
    spread of various infectious diseases such as AIDS.
        (3) The World Health Organization (WHO) set forth in the first 
    chapter of its charter the objective of attaining the highest 
    possible level of health for all people.
        (4) In 1977, the World Health Organization established ``Health 
    For All By The Year 2000'' as its overriding priority and 
    reaffirmed that central vision with the initiation of its ``Health 
    For All'' renewal process in 1995.
        (5) Taiwan's population of 21,000,000 people is larger than 
    that of three-fourths of the member states already in the World 
    Health Organization.
        (6) Taiwan's achievements in the field of health are 
    substantial, including one of the highest life expectancy levels in 
    Asia, maternal and infant mortality rates comparable to those of 
    western countries, the eradication of such infectious diseases as 
    cholera, smallpox, and the plague, and the first to be rid of polio 
    and provide children with free hepatitis B vaccinations.
        (7) The World Health Organization was unable to assist Taiwan 
    with an outbreak of enterovirus 71 which killed 70 Taiwanese 
    children and infected more than 1,100 Taiwanese children in 1998.
        (8) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a willingness to 
    assist financially or technically in WHO-supported international 
    aid and health activities, but has ultimately been unable to render 
    such assistance.
        (9) The World Health Organization allows observers to 
    participate in the activities of the organization.
        (10) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review, 
    declared its intention to support Taiwan's participation in 
    appropriate international organizations.
        (11) In light of all of the benefits that Taiwan's 
    participation in the World Health Organization could bring to the 
    state of health not only in Taiwan, but also regionally and 
    globally, Taiwan and its 21,000,000 people should have appropriate 
    and meaningful participation in the World Health Organization.
    (b) Report.--Not later than January 1, 2000, the Secretary of State 
shall submit a report to the Congress on the efforts of the Secretary 
to fulfill the commitment made in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review to more 
actively support Taiwan's participation in international organizations, 
in particular the World Health Organization (WHO).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.