Taipei - Taiwan has failed for the 12th consecutive year in its bid to rejoin the World Health Organization (WHO), but Taipei vowed to continue the fight next year, a newspaper said Tuesday.

"We regret our setback, but we want to thank our diplomatic allies, which asked WHO to give Taiwan observer status at the 61st World Health Assembly (WHA)," the China Times quoted Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Phoebe Yeh as saying.

The WHO opened Monday in Geneva to discuss public health issues, reduction of alcohol abuse and climate change. Seventeen of Taiwan's 23 diplomatic allies submitted a motion urging WHA to grant observer status for Taiwan, to pave the way for Taiwan's becoming a WHO member.

On Monday afternoon, after a 40-minute debate, the general committee of the WHA refused to put the Taiwan issue on the general assembly's agenda, citing lack of consensus among WHO members.

Both the United States and Japan back observer status for Taiwan, while the European Union supports Taiwan's "meaningful participation" in WHO activities.

But opposition from China - which sees Taiwan as its breakaway province - and Beijing's diplomatic allies has blocked Taiwan from gaining observer status.

Taiwan, seat of the exiled Republic of China since 1949, lost its seat in the United Nations to China in 1972 and was expelled from all UN-related organizations soon afterward.

In 1993, Taiwan launched an international campaign to rejoin the UN and in 1997 began the fight to rejoin the WHO.

China has said that if Taipei accepts that Taiwan is part of China, Beijing would agree for Taiwan to join some international organizations under the name of Chinese-Taipei but would not let Taipei join organizations like the UN, whose membership is open only to sovereign states. (dpa)