China rejects US call to invite Taiwan to WHO assembly

BEIJING (AFP): China on Thursday angrily rejected a call for the World Health Organization to invite Taiwan to its annual assembly, after the United States pushed for the democratic island to participate. Taiwan has been blocked from attending the assembly in recent years by China, which considers the island a renegade province to be reunified with the mainland. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the US strongly advocates for the WHO to invite Taiwan to take part in its annual World Health Assembly as an observer, criticising its exclusion as "unwarranted". Beijing lashed out in response to the comments. "We…