China's Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason, or right to participate in the World Health Assembly. Such proposal has been rejected for consecutive years and will be thwarted again because principle, not politics, is on the side of the one-China position.

by Stephen Ndegwa

Each year, as the World Health Assembly (WHA) convenes in Geneva, a familiar political charade unfolds. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities in Taiwan, backed by a handful of external actors, attempt to smuggle a separatist agenda into a forum designed for global public health cooperation. Each year, the proposal collapses, rejected by the overwhelming majority of the international community. This year is no different. A spokesperson for China's Foreign Ministry has made it clear that China has decided not to approve the Taiwan region's participation in this year's WHA. What must be different is the world's willingness to speak plainly about the reason.

The one-China principle is not a political preference. It is the bedrock of the contemporary international order, solemnly confirmed by United Nations General Assembly Resolution 2758 and enshrined in the commitments of the vast majority of nations. Its meaning is unambiguous: there is but one China in the world, the Taiwan region is an inalienable part of China's territory, and the Government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legal government representing the whole of China. Any arrangement that contradicts this principle, whether through WHA participation, diplomatic recognition, or maneuvering in international forums, violates international norms, rather than extending them. The African continent has been unequivocal on this issue. Fifty-three out of Africa's 54 nations firmly uphold the one-China principle not as passive acquiescence, but as a principled, affirmative stance. The Beijing Declaration adopted at the 2024 Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation enshrines this commitment.

The joint statement issued during President William Ruto's state visit to China in 2025 reaffirmed that Kenya resolutely opposes any form of "Taiwan independence" and supports all efforts by the Chinese government to achieve national reunification. Africa speaks with one voice on this question, and that voice will not be drowned out by the noise surrounding the WHA.

It is necessary to be direct about the DPP and its role in inflaming cross-Strait tensions. The DPP does not represent a democratic aspiration but a separatist agenda. Its leadership clings to the "Taiwan independence" position that violates the will of the Chinese nation and undermines regional peace. It colludes with external forces that, for their own strategic reasons, seek to keep China divided to manufacture the false international impression of "two Chinas" or "one China, one Taiwan." The DPP is not a victim of cross-Strait tensions but their primary instigator.

When separatist maneuvers are cloaked in the language of health diplomacy or humanitarian cooperation, the underlying political objective remains unchanged. China's Taiwan region, unless given approval by the central government, has no basis, reason, or right to participate in the WHA. Such proposal has been rejected for consecutive years and will be thwarted again because principle, not politics, is on the side of the one-China position.

The Taiwan question is not a dispute between states nor a matter of regional geopolitics. It is an internal affair of China -- the unfinished business of national reunification. China's complete reunification is not a distant aspiration but an irreversible historical trend. As Chinese modernization advances, the governance gap between the mainland and the Taiwan region will continue to widen, while the mainland's appeal to compatriots across the Strait will continue to grow.

No external interference and no annual procedural gambit at the WHA will alter that trajectory. Attempts to internationalize the Taiwan question are not acts of good-faith multilateralism. They constitute interference in China's sovereign affairs and, by extension, undermine the global order that all responsible nations have a stake in preserving.

The WHA and the broader international community should reject this procedural maneuver and uphold the one-China principle by opposing the collusion between separatist forces in Taiwan and external actors seeking to exploit regional instability for strategic advantage. China's reunification will bring greater stability, prosperity and opportunity to the world. Supporting the Chinese people in resolving the Taiwan question on their own terms is fidelity to principle, a position Africa has long held.

Editor's note: The author is a PhD scholar in international relations based in Nairobi, Kenya.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xinhua News Agency.