Pompeo says Taiwan exclusion ‘further damages’ WHO credibility

In this file photo taken on November 9, 2018 US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a press conference with Chinese politburo member Yang Jiechi and Defense Minister Wei Fenghe during the US-China Diplomatic and Security Dialogue in the Benjamin Franklin Room of the State Department in Washington, DC. (AFP)

• Pompeo condemned the World Health Organization’s delay on whether to grant Taiwan observer status

WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday condemned the World Health Organization’s delay on whether to grant Taiwan observer status, saying it proved the UN body’s chief was pleasing China.
Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus’ “lack of independence deprives the Assembly of Taiwan’s renowned scientific expertise on pandemic disease, and further damages the WHO’s credibility and effectiveness at a time when the world needs it the most,” Pompeo said in a statement.