TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The World Health Assembly (WHA) opened Monday in Geneva, Switzerland, and for the first time ever delegates from Canada and New Zealand voiced their support of Taiwan’s participation in the WHA during the first plenary meeting, reported Chinese-language Liberty Times.

Due to Chinese pressure, Taiwan has not been invited to the WHA as an observer since 2017.

In the past few months, the country’s diplomatic allies and like-minded countries and institutes have openly urged the World Health Organization (WHO), through official statements or via social media messages, to include Taiwan in the WHA. The WHA is the most important annual meeting of WHO and during which time global health policies and issues are discussed.

During the plenary meeting, both the Canadian delegate and Minister of Health, Marie Ginette Petitpas Taylor, and the representative to New Zealand and Minister of Health, David Clark, pledged support for Taiwan’s WHA participation.

The Canadian minister said diseases permeate regardless of borders, while Representative Clark pointed out that global health issues should not be politicized, the report said.

On the other hand, 15 diplomatic allies of Taiwan asked WHO to include the proposal of inviting Taiwan to participate in the WHA as an observer on the agenda, according to Taiwan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

However, after a debate between the advocates of the proposal, Marshall Islands and the Solomon Islands, and the opposition team, including China and Cuba, was held, the assembly ruled to abandon the proposal.