“We have got to stand up for ourselves,” Winston Peters, New Zealand’s foreign minister, said at a news conference when asked about China’s response to New Zealand’s position on Taiwan. “And true friendship is based on equality. It’s based on the ability in this friendship to nevertheless disagree.”
I don’t often agree with Winston Peter’s but on Taiwan joining the World Health Organisation (WHO) I agree. In the same way that China doesn't get to decide what Taiwan does, they don't get to decide what New Zealand does either.
I know the relationship between China and Taiwan is complicated and full of historical challenges. I also know that we have a unique relationship with Taiwan (Republic of China) with our free trade deal. They're our 8th largest export market and our 16th largest import market. We share a number of similarities and we also have many things to teach each other.
Recovering from a global pandemic and the economic impact isn't something we can do alone. If COVID-19 has taught us anything, it should be that collective action is one of the most powerful actions to a crisis. A global collective action is needed to respond to this crisis and the climate change crisis. Allowing nations to be part of that conversation is the starting point and the World Health Organisation is where those conversations happen. Blocking nations for petty political reasons will not save lives nor will it help economies or save the environment.
We like to talk about being an independent nation that punches above it's weight, it's time we stood up and acted like one.