118 STAT. 657 PUBLIC LAW 108–235—JUNE 14, 2004 Palestine Liberation Organization in 1974, the Order of Malta, and the Holy See in the early 1950’s. (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 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 a 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 member ship is not possible’’, further stating that the 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, Tuber culosis, and Malaria in December 2002. (15) In 2003, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) caused 84 deaths in Taiwan. (16) Avian influenza, commonly known as bird flu, has reemerged in Asia, with strains of the influenza reported by the People’s Republic of China, Cambodia, Indonesia, Japan, Pakistan, South Korea, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, and Laos. (17) The SARS and avian influenza outbreaks illustrate that disease knows no boundaries and emphasize the impor tance of allowing all people access to the WHO. (18) As the pace of globalization quickens and the spread of infectious disease accelerates, it is crucial that all people, including the people of Taiwan, be given the opportunity to participate in international health organizations such as the WHO. (19) The Secretary of Health and Human Services acknowl edged during the 2003 World Health Assembly meeting that ‘‘[t]he need for effective public health exists among all peoples’’. (b) PLAN.—The Secretary of State is authorized to— (1) initiate a United States plan to endorse and obtain observer status for Taiwan at the annual week long summit
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