The H5N1 avian flu strain that has shocked the World Health Organization (WHO) first appeared in Hong Kong in 1997. This year the virus seems to have become more virulent as it spreads across Asia. Currently, poultry farms in Japan, South Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, Cambodia and Pakistan have been affected. Tens of millions of chickens have been culled. The speed of the contagion is unprecedented and its impact on Asia's poultry farmers cannot be ignored.
What is especially worrisome is that six people reportedly died in Vietnam from bird flu, raising concerns throughout the region and at the WHO. According to epidemiologists, the wide scope of the contagion, the inter-species transmission and the successive transmission to one poultry farm after another have been some of the unusual features of this outbreak. The speed of transmission appears to have taken the WHO by surprise.
In Taiwan, outbreaks have been reported in some poultry farms in the center and south of the country. This has resulted in the slaughter of around 200,000 chickens. According to test results, however, the outbreaks were not caused by the virulent H5N1 strain of avian flu. But as happened with last year's SARS epidemic, no WHO officials have come here yet to offer assistance in epidemic prevention. Such a repeat is deplorable.
Can other countries really afford for Taiwan to become a loophole in efforts to stop the spread of bird flu?
The WHO, which is responsible for ensuring humanity's health, continues to kowtow to Chinese political pressure and reject Taiwan's participation.
China has repeatedly lied to the world, saying that Beijing can take care of the Taiwanese people's health needs. In reality, however, China has spread diseases to Taiwan -- from the foot-and-mouth epidemic a few years ago to SARS. Those outbreaks showed the world the deficiencies of the Chinese health-care system and its bureaucracy. How can China take care of Taiwan if it cannot even take good care of its own people?
Everyone knows that rapid disease control is very important when contagious diseases like SARS and bird flu break out. Think about it. Tens of thousands of people travel in and out of Taiwan every day. Once a new disease appears in Taiwan, it could spread to other parts of the world in a couple of days. If Taiwan remains unable to get timely global epidemic information or link itself to the international epidemic-prevention network, then we won't have to think hard to see what price the international community may have to pay for leaving a loophole open in Taiwan.
We are happy to see the Thai government quickly invite experts from other Asian countries, including Taiwan, to an epidemic-prevention conference. This reflects the growing awareness among Asian countries that only when truly united can they effectively prevent further spread of the outbreak. Thailand knows that Taiwan must not be allowed to become a loophole in the prevention work. What legitimate reason can other WHO members still cite to exclude this nation from that organization?
Yesterday’s recall and referendum votes garnered mixed results for the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT). All seven of the KMT lawmakers up for a recall survived the vote, and by a convincing margin of, on average, 35 percent agreeing versus 65 percent disagreeing. However, the referendum sponsored by the KMT and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) on restarting the operation of the Ma-anshan Nuclear Power Plant in Pingtung County failed. Despite three times more “yes” votes than “no,” voter turnout fell short of the threshold. The nation needs energy stability, especially with the complex international security situation and significant challenges regarding
Most countries are commemorating the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II with condemnations of militarism and imperialism, and commemoration of the global catastrophe wrought by the war. On the other hand, China is to hold a military parade. According to China’s state-run Xinhua news agency, Beijing is conducting the military parade in Tiananmen Square on Sept. 3 to “mark the 80th anniversary of the end of World War II and the victory of the Chinese People’s War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression.” However, during World War II, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) had not yet been established. It
There is an old saying that if there is blood in the water, the sharks will come. In Taiwan’s case, that shark is China, circling, waiting for any sign of weakness to strike. Many thought the failed recall effort was that blood in the water, a signal for Beijing to press harder, but Taiwan’s democracy has just proven that China is mistaken. The recent recall campaign against 24 Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislators, many with openly pro-Beijing leanings, failed at the ballot box. While the challenge targeted opposition lawmakers rather than President William Lai (賴清德) himself, it became an indirect
A recent critique of former British prime minister Boris Johnson’s speech in Taiwan (“Invite ‘will-bes,’ not has-beens,” by Sasha B. Chhabra, Aug. 12, page 8) seriously misinterpreted his remarks, twisting them to fit a preconceived narrative. As a Taiwanese who witnessed his political rise and fall firsthand while living in the UK and was present for his speech in Taipei, I have a unique vantage point from which to say I think the critiques of his visit deliberately misinterpreted his words. By dwelling on his personal controversies, they obscured the real substance of his message. A clarification is needed to
RSS