TAIPEI -- When the World Health Assembly convenes next week, it will focus on the coronavirus pandemic that has infected more than 4 million people and killed nearly 300,000. Yet one of the governments that has had the most success in battling the outbreak may not have a seat at the table.
On Monday, the World Health Organization will hold a vote to determine whether to grant observer status to Taiwan at the WHA, its decision-making body. While the ballot appears unlikely to go Taiwan's way, the number of countries showing support for Taipei will serve as an indicator of how much sway China has lost with many of the world's most powerful countries in the wake of the global crisis that originated within its borders.
