By Lu Yixin
Jan. 27, 2026 the United States officially announced its withdrawal from the World Health Organization (WHO). Recently, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Health Jim O’Neill stated that in 2019, the WHO ignored Taiwan’s early warnings about COVID-19 and even acted as if Taiwan did not exist. Today, Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Health, Chuang Jen-Hsiang, said that the WHO’s disregard of Taiwan’s advice at that time was “a loss for the entire world.”
According to the Central News Agency, in response to the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, Secretary of State Marco Rubio emphasized that it was a response to the WHO’s mishandling during the COVID-19 pandemic. O’Neill also criticized the WHO on X (formerly Twitter) for ignoring Taiwan’s COVID-19 warning.
“WHO pretended Taiwan did not exist in 2019 and ignored Taiwan’s early warning about COVID-19; it disregarded rigorous science and promoted lockdowns,” O’Neill wrote, though he emphasized that international coordination on infectious disease issues would continue in the future. However, WHO expert van Kerkhove said that when the WHO detected the virus at the end of 2019, Taiwan had not provided a warning but had instead asked for information.
When asked about the matter by the media, Taiwan’s Deputy Minister of Health Chuang Jen-Hsiang said that although Taiwan is not a member of the WHO, it fulfills global healthcare cooperation and pandemic prevention responsibilities. On the morning of Dec. 31, 2019, Taiwan identified online that seven cases of “atypical pneumonia” had appeared in Wuhan, China. China has traditionally referred to SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) as “atypical pneumonia,” and it is a human-to-human transmissible disease. Seeing this information, the Taiwan CDC, based on SARS experience, considered it necessary to verify this report with WHO.
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Chuang, who was deputy director of the Taiwan CDC and spokesperson for the Central Epidemic Command Center at the time, said that the December 2019 email specifically noted the patients had “atypical pneumonia” and were under isolation treatment. Anyone with a public health background would know this strongly suggested human-to-human transmission. However, the WHO only replied that the email had been forwarded to someone for handling.
No confirmation received
Chuang continued that because no confirmation was received from the WHO that day, Taiwan immediately implemented enhanced boarding quarantine measures on Dec. 31, 2019, under the high suspicion of human-to-human transmission. “It was later proven that we were right,” he said.
When asked whether he believed the WHO ignored Taiwan’s existence, Chuang replied, “It should be said that ‘their ignoring Taiwan’s advice was a loss for the world.’”
In April 2020, Chuang stated that the Taiwan CDC had learned via social media on Dec. 31, 2019, that at least seven atypical pneumonia cases had occurred in Wuhan, China. The CDC, taking the report seriously, emailed the WHO International Health Regulations contact point requesting more information.
On April 11, 2020, the WHO stated that it had not ignored Taiwan’s warning and that Taiwan’s email did not mention the risk of human-to-human transmission. On the same day, Chen Shih-Chung, the then-commanding officer of Taiwan’s epidemic command center, released the full email to refute WHO’s claim, emphasizing that while Taiwan did not explicitly say “human-to-human transmission,” it highlighted the atypical pneumonia characteristics and that patients were isolated—strongly implying possible human-to-human transmission.
Recently, Jay Bhattacharya, director of the U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH), who has long opposed lockdowns, also joined the U.S. critique of the WHO. Regarding van Kerkhove’s claim that “WHO never recommended lockdowns,” he said this statement is clearly false. Bhattacharya added that the WHO’s 2020 mission to China praised Chinese authorities’ lockdown measures, effectively endorsing them and recommending similar lockdown strategies to other countries.
WHO expert says Taiwan did not warn about COVID-19
According to Liberty Times, regarding van Kerkhove’s recent statement that Taiwan had not provided early COVID-19 warnings but instead sought information, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesperson Hsiao Guang-Wei said at a press briefing that this was incorrect. Looking back at the April 11, 2020 press release from Taiwan’s Central Epidemic Command Center, it clarified WHO’s denial of Taiwan’s warning about possible human-to-human transmission.
Hsiao emphasized that it is no longer a debate over whether a warning was issued or ignored. “After so many years, the WHO should clearly understand that for the benefit of all humanity, no country or individual should be neglected or overlooked.”
He stressed that Taiwan has sought WHO participation for years and has long enjoyed support from allied and like-minded countries. Although the U.S. formally withdrew from the WHO, it has repeatedly affirmed support for Taiwan’s international participation. The Trump administration publicly expressed support for Taiwan’s international involvement 13 times. Support from other like-minded countries and allies has continued to grow.
Even though the U.S. has withdrawn from the WHO, Hsiao said Taiwan will continue cooperation with the U.S., allies, and like-minded countries. Taiwan’s objectives remain unchanged, aiming to be invited as an observer to the World Health Assembly (WHA) and fully participate in WHO meetings and activities. This concerns the health safety of Taiwan’s 23 million people and Taiwan’s contributions and leadership role in healthcare, which he believes can benefit the entire world.
US withdrawal from WHO sparks discussion
Following the news of the U.S. withdrawal from the WHO, discussions continued online. Netizens recently dug up a 2020 video of former WHO Secretary-General senior advisor Bruce Aylward avoiding questions about Taiwan.
In the video, when a Hong Kong reporter asked via video call whether Taiwan’s WHO membership should be reconsidered, Aylward appeared stunned and even pretended not to hear the question. When the reporter asked again, he requested to skip the question. The reporter persisted, but the video call seemed to disconnect or be hung up.
When the reporter called back asking Aylward’s opinion on how Taiwan had managed the pandemic so far, Aylward again deflected, saying, “We have already talked about China. When you look across regions of China, you will find they actually did quite well.”