For anyone wondering about the back story behind the General Assembly resolution asking the World Health Organization to grant Taiwan observer status …

The resolution stems from a trip state Sen. William A. Walaska made to the island nation — whose government is formally known as the Republic of China — nearly 10 years ago, Walaska said last week.

Walaska and then-Sen. Charles J. Fogarty were part of a New England delegation that traveled there at the invitation of Taiwan’s government. Since then, Walaska said, he’s submitted this resolution each year.

This year’s version cleared the Senate on March 22, and is scheduled for consideration in the House tomorrow.

Taiwan was a founding member of both the United Nations and the World Health Organization. It left both organizations in 1972 after the mainland People’s Republic of China was admitted.

Taiwan’s latest effort to join WHO failed last week, after the organization voted 148 to 17 against debating the subject. The United States was among those to vote against opening the debate.

According to the International Herald Tribune: “At present, all official communication between WHO and the self-ruled island must be addressed to China, a fact Taipei argues jeopardizes its ability to cope with major medical emergencies and creates gaps in the global health-monitoring system.”

Taiwan is “one of the few democracies in that part of the world,” Walaska said about his reasons for submitting the bill. “They’re a very much industrialized, very friendly nation.”

However true that may be, Walaska admitted he’s not sure how much clout a resolution from the Rhode Island General Assembly will have in shaping the United States' position on Taiwan, never mind the position of the entire World Health Organization.

“Let’s face it,” said Walaska, D-Warwick. “My statements regarding foreign policy don’t carry a whole lot of weight, do they?”