Taiwan on Friday lashed out at China for needlessly ‘sticking its nose’ into every other nation’s issues and appealed to India to support its participation in the ensuing World Health Assembly in Geneva from 20-28 May.

Addressing a press conference in New Delhi, Chung-Kwang Tien, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in India, accused China of using all necessary force to blockade and suffocate his country. ‘’They (China) are trying to take away all our allies. Some 1000 Chinese missiles are facing us and Chinese President Xi Jinping has already stated that they would not hesitate to use force against us,’’ he added.

The Taiwanese envoy alleged that China had also been creating trouble for India at the Nuclear Suppliers’ Group (NSG) and took ten years to lift its technical hold on declaring JeM chief Masood Azhar as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council. China was also ignoring India’s concern over huge trade imbalance between the two countries in China’s favour.

He was of the view that India should try to keep ‘parallel relationship’ with China and Taiwan without mixing ties with the two nations. ‘’You make friends, not at the cost of relations with other friends. Strong India-Taiwan ties are a ‘win-win’ situation for both of us,’’ he added.

The ambassador said it was because of China’s continued ‘political interference’ that Taiwan was being kept out of the World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the World Health Organisation (WHO) for the third consecutive year. Taiwan, he said, wanted the WHO and its ‘friends’ in India to recognise the justice and importance of Taiwan’s participation in the World Health Assembly. Taiwan, as a major contributor to world health, has invested $6 billion in international medical and humanitarian aids that have helped more than 80 countries in the last 23 years. He said he had also taken up the issue with representatives of the Indian Government.

Congress Rajya Sabha member from Mizoram Ronald Sapa Tlau, who also addressed the media, said the WHO must ensure that Taiwan was allowed to participate at the World Health Assembly in Geneva.