DPP authorities only disgrace themselves by hyping up Taiwan question at WHA: spokeswoman

The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities will only bring self-inflicted humiliation upon themselves by hyping up issues related to the World Health Assembly (WHA), Zhu Fenglian, spokeswoman for the State Council Taiwan Affairs Office said on Wednesday.

The 79th WHA, the highest decision-making body of the World Health Organization (WHO), on Monday decided not to include in its agenda a so-called proposal on Taiwan's participation in the annual assembly as an observer.

This marks the 10th consecutive year that the WHA has rejected such a Taiwan-related proposal, while the DPP authorities held so-called events outside the assembly venue.

"The DPP authorities are hyping up issues related to the World Health Assembly and using the guise of health services to engage in separatist political manipulation. They are not genuinely concerned about the health and well-being of the people in Taiwan. Instead, they are merely seeking to grab attention, engage in political manipulation, and deceive the people on the island. It will only disgrace themselves. It will not change the fact that 'Taiwan separatism' leads nowhere and provocations for that end are doomed to failure," said Zhu.

DPP authorities only disgrace themselves by hyping up Taiwan question at WHA: spokeswoman

The U.S. Department of War announced on Tuesday that it has reduced the total number of Brigade Combat Teams (BCTs) assigned to Europe from four to three, returning to the levels seen in 2021.

This decision was the result of a comprehensive, multi-layered process focused on U.S. force posture in Europe, and it results in a temporary delay in the deployment of U.S. forces to Poland, the statement said.

Speaking at a White House press briefing the same day, Vice President J.D. Vance pushed back against media reports that the government had canceled a plan this month to send more than 4,000 troops to Poland, referring to the move as "just a standard delay in rotation" that is aimed at encouraging Europe to "take more ownership over its own territorial integrity."

In a May 2 interview, President Trump said the United States intends to "cut way down" its troop numbers in Germany, describing reductions that would go "a lot further" than the 5,000 personnel the Pentagon had announced a day earlier. Critics argued that the withdrawals are meant to punish NATO allies that did not join the U.S. military operations against Iran.

U.S. Department of War reduces Brigade Combat Teams in Europe