Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao has re-iterated China's stance that Taiwan is not eligible to become a member or observer of the World Health Organization.

China's central government has valued and safeguarded the health welfare of the Taiwan people and made efforts to promote health exchanges across the Taiwan Straits, Liu said.

"The WHO is a special institution of the United Nations, which can be joined in only by sovereign states," Liu said.

In 2005, the Ministry of Health and the WHO Secretariat signed a memorandum of understanding on Taiwan health and medical experts' participation in WHO technical activities. Over the past year, Taiwan health and medical experts have for several times attended WHO technical activities, he said.