Remember what the doctor says when a child gets sick? Take the medicine on time and get enough rest.
Apparently such common sense has been all but forgotten on the sidewalks around Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, where patients and medical personnel have been quarantined after an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS).
There are SARS patients, other patients, their relatives, and medical personnel in the hospital. Under quarantine, they need peace and quiet in order to recuperate. But over the last few days we have seen a noisy circus outside the hospital, disturbing the patients at a time when they most need quiet.
The circus contained a variety of people. Some came under the banner of religion while others called themselves artists or performers. Of course, politicians were also an indispensable part of the show. They spoke through microphones and loud speakers, sang and danced, played their instruments, recited prayers, knelt on the ground and performed magic. There has been a great variety of activities.
Can such noisy "care" help patients recover? Can it help boost the morale of medical workers under a two-week quarantine? It's doubtful.
What's more, members of the media -- especially television news "reporters" -- need to show more discretion in their coverage of the outbreak. They should never report unconfirmed rumors that will stoke fears among those quarantined. Above all, common sense would dictate that reporters should never enter quarantined areas to interview those inside.
However, common sense is in short supply and has been replaced by superstition and hysteria.
How could Hsinchu City Mayor Lin Junq-tzer (
Think about it. If their own relatives or friends have the misfortune to get SARS, should we then use all medical facilities unconditionally to save their lives? Or should we just hold the attitude that "each should shovel the snow on his own doorstep" and leave them to die?
The behavior of several dozen employees from Hoping Hospital who sneaked out and refused to return for quarantine is contemptible. It provides a stark contrast to the brave acts of Yeh Chin-chuan (
If not for these volunteers, Taiwanese people would have to concede in shame that social and medical ethics in the country have been thoroughly undermined by SARS. Fortunately, these brave people remind us that moral courage and compassion still exist in Taiwanese society.
During an emergency SARS meeting yesterday, Premier Yu Shyi-kun said that Taiwanese must act in such a way now that will not make them a laughingstock in the eyes of the international community after the SARS crisis is over.
Yu was absolutely right, but his warning came too late. Scenes of those selfish acts by Taiwanese had long been beamed to the world by the media.
SARS is not only a major test for Taiwan's medical system, but also an opportunity for soul-searching. This difficult time has revealed the many ugly aspects of people's mentalities, but it has also brought respectable heroes to the foreground. Those with even the slightest bit of conscience should stop obstructing the government's efforts to contain SARS.
Could Asia be on the verge of a new wave of nuclear proliferation? A look back at the early history of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which recently celebrated its 75th anniversary, illuminates some reasons for concern in the Indo-Pacific today. US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin recently described NATO as “the most powerful and successful alliance in history,” but the organization’s early years were not without challenges. At its inception, the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty marked a sea change in American strategic thinking. The United States had been intent on withdrawing from Europe in the years following
My wife and I spent the week in the interior of Taiwan where Shuyuan spent her childhood. In that town there is a street that functions as an open farmer’s market. Walk along that street, as Shuyuan did yesterday, and it is next to impossible to come home empty-handed. Some mangoes that looked vaguely like others we had seen around here ended up on our table. Shuyuan told how she had bought them from a little old farmer woman from the countryside who said the mangoes were from a very old tree she had on her property. The big surprise
The issue of China’s overcapacity has drawn greater global attention recently, with US Secretary of the Treasury Janet Yellen urging Beijing to address its excess production in key industries during her visit to China last week. Meanwhile in Brussels, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen last week said that Europe must have a tough talk with China on its perceived overcapacity and unfair trade practices. The remarks by Yellen and Von der Leyen come as China’s economy is undergoing a painful transition. Beijing is trying to steer the world’s second-largest economy out of a COVID-19 slump, the property crisis and
As former president Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) wrapped up his visit to the People’s Republic of China, he received his share of attention. Certainly, the trip must be seen within the full context of Ma’s life, that is, his eight-year presidency, the Sunflower movement and his failed Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement, as well as his eight years as Taipei mayor with its posturing, accusations of money laundering, and ups and downs. Through all that, basic questions stand out: “What drives Ma? What is his end game?” Having observed and commented on Ma for decades, it is all ironically reminiscent of former US president Harry