[Congressional Bills 108th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 243 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.243

                       One Hundred Eighth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

          Begun and held at the City of Washington on Tuesday,
           the seventh day of January, two thousand and three


                                 An Act


 
  Concerning participation of Taiwan in the World Health Organization.

    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 important to every citizen of the world and 
    access to the highest standards of health information and services 
    is necessary to improve the public health.
        (2) Direct and unobstructed participation in international 
    health cooperation forums and programs is beneficial for all parts 
    of the world, especially with today's greater potential for the 
    cross-border spread of various infectious diseases such as the 
    human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), tuberculosis, and malaria.
        (3) Taiwan's population of 23,500,000 people is greater than 
    that of three-fourths of the member states already in the World 
    Health Organization (WHO).
        (4) 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 eradicate polio 
    and provide children with hepatitis B vaccinations.
        (5) The United States Centers for Disease Control and 
    Prevention and its Taiwan counterpart agencies have enjoyed close 
    collaboration on a wide range of public health issues.
        (6) In recent years Taiwan has expressed a willingness to 
    assist financially and technically in international aid and health 
    activities supported by the WHO.
        (7) On January 14, 2001, an earthquake, registering between 7.6 
    and 7.9 on the Richter scale, struck El Salvador. In response, the 
    Taiwanese Government sent 2 rescue teams, consisting of 90 
    individuals specializing in firefighting, medicine, and civil 
    engineering. The Taiwanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs also donated 
    $200,000 in relief aid to the Salvadoran Government.
        (8) The World Health Assembly has allowed observers to 
    participate in the activities of the organization, including the 
    Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974, the Order of Malta, and 
    the Holy See in the early 1950s.
        (9) The United States, in the 1994 Taiwan Policy Review, 
    declared its intention to support Taiwan's participation in 
    appropriate international organizations.
        (10) Public Law 106-137 required the Secretary of State to 
    submit a report to the Congress on efforts by the executive branch 
    to support Taiwan's participation in international organizations, 
    in particular the WHO.
        (11) In light of all benefits that Taiwan's participation in 
    the WHO can bring to the state of health not only in Taiwan, but 
    also regionally and globally, Taiwan and its 23,500,000 people 
    should have appropriate and meaningful participation in the WHO.
        (12) On May 11, 2001, President Bush stated in his letter to 
    Senator Murkowski that the United States ``should find 
    opportunities for Taiwan's voice to be heard in international 
    organizations in order to make a contribution, even if membership 
    is not possible'', further stating that his Administration ``has 
    focused on finding concrete ways for Taiwan to benefit and 
    contribute to the WHO''.
        (13) In his speech made in the World Medical Association on May 
    14, 2002, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson 
    announced ``America's work for a healthy world cuts across 
    political lines. That is why my government supports Taiwan's 
    efforts to gain observership status at the World Health Assembly. 
    We know this is a controversial issue, but we do not shrink from 
    taking a public stance on it. The people of Taiwan deserve the same 
    level of public health as citizens of every nation on earth, and we 
    support them in their efforts to achieve it''.
        (14) The Government of the Republic of China on Taiwan, in 
    response to an appeal from the United Nations and the United States 
    for resources to control the spread of HIV/AIDS, donated $1,000,000 
    to the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria in 
    December 2002.
    (b) Plan.--The Secretary of State is authorized--
        (1) to initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain 
    observer status for Taiwan at the annual week-long summit of the 
    World Health Assembly in May 2003 in Geneva, Switzerland; and
        (2) to instruct the United States delegation to Geneva to 
    implement that plan.
    (c) Report.--Not later than 14 days after the date of the enactment 
of this Act, the Secretary of State shall submit a report to Congress 
in unclassified form describing the action taken under subsection (b).

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

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