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The World Health Assembly, the decision making body of the World Health Organisation, meets today for the first time since the coronavirus pandemic began, to discuss how best to tackle Covid-19. Because of opposition from China, Taiwan will not be attending - despite being one of the countries with the best records for tackling the disease.

Former prime ministers and MPs from several countries have written a letter to the World Health Assembly urging it to allow Taiwan to attend. One of them is a former prime minister of Sweden, Carl Bildt, who's currently co-chair of the European Council on Foreign Relations.

"If you drag all sorts of political conflicts... into the World Health Assembly then nothing will be done and we'll be stuck with the virus forever."

Photo: Man wears a 'Taiwan Can Help' t-shirt at a conference about allowing Taiwan to take part in the assembly. Credit: Getty Images