World Health Organization (WHO) experts in Taiwan have again raised concerns about the community spread of SARS and the infection-control measures in hospitals. At the same time, the news media report daily on the people who willfully disregard quarantine orders and others who are resorting to do-it-yourself masks because of a reported severe shortage of medical masks.
Taken together, these stories suggest that the biggest problem in the government's handling of the SARS epidemic thus far has been the lack of effective and coordinated enforcement and implementation mechanisms.
It is true that -- with ever-changing developments in the spread of the disease -- ?this is not the time to point fingers and cast blame. Cooperation and unity among all levels of the government are imperative to get the job done.
However, that does not mean that scrutiny and examination of what has gone wrong can wait until later. After all, only by first recognizing and identifying mistakes can one learn to improve. If these errors are not pointed out, the government will only repeat the mistakes over and over again, and all hope of a victory in the battle against SARS will be lost.
Many agree that the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital was where the first major defeat in the fight against SARS was suffered and from where things went rapidly downhill. Because the hospital did not adopt strict measures to prevent infection, members of the medical staff were infected by SARS patients. For the same reason, infected personnel further spread the disease within the hospital. This reveals a major shortcoming in the disease-control measures of the hospital.
Worse yet, the hospital allegedly had failed to issue proper alerts and notifications to hospitals where suspected SARS patients were transferred to. As a result, other hospitals did not have the opportunity to adopt extra precautions in treating these patients, thereby exposing their medical staff to the risk of infection.
For example, the National Taiwan University Hospital's zero-death record was spoiled by the death of a SARS-infected man who had previously sought medical treatment at the Hoping Hospital. Yet, the univeristy hospital was clueless about the man's contact with Hoping -- which would have alerted them about potential SARS infection -- until they checked his National Health Insurance card. This reveals major loopholes in the mechanism for tracing and reporting SARS infections.
The enforcement of quarantine is another major problem. For example, in the case of the Hoping Hospital, people sealed off in the hospital were allegedly at serious risk of cross-infection among themselves as a result of a shortage of protective gear and a lack of internal segregation based on the level of their exposure and potential exposure to the SARS virus.
In addition, many people who were place under home quarantine defied their quarantine orders and simply went about their usual business.
Minister of Interior Yu Cheng-hsien (
Premier Yu Shyi-kun spoke the truth yesterday when he said that people need to stop asking "Who is to blame for this?" and start asking "What can be done to close the loophooles?"
The other question is, "Can this country learn from its mistakes?"
Recently, China launched another diplomatic offensive against Taiwan, improperly linking its “one China principle” with UN General Assembly Resolution 2758 to constrain Taiwan’s diplomatic space. After Taiwan’s presidential election on Jan. 13, China persuaded Nauru to sever diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Nauru cited Resolution 2758 in its declaration of the diplomatic break. Subsequently, during the WHO Executive Board meeting that month, Beijing rallied countries including Venezuela, Zimbabwe, Belarus, Egypt, Nicaragua, Sri Lanka, Laos, Russia, Syria and Pakistan to reiterate the “one China principle” in their statements, and assert that “Resolution 2758 has settled the status of Taiwan” to hinder Taiwan’s
Can US dialogue and cooperation with the communist dictatorship in Beijing help avert a Taiwan Strait crisis? Or is US President Joe Biden playing into Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) hands? With America preoccupied with the wars in Europe and the Middle East, Biden is seeking better relations with Xi’s regime. The goal is to responsibly manage US-China competition and prevent unintended conflict, thereby hoping to create greater space for the two countries to work together in areas where their interests align. The existing wars have already stretched US military resources thin, and the last thing Biden wants is yet another war.
As Maldivian President Mohamed Muizzu’s party won by a landslide in Sunday’s parliamentary election, it is a good time to take another look at recent developments in the Maldivian foreign policy. While Muizzu has been promoting his “Maldives First” policy, the agenda seems to have lost sight of a number of factors. Contemporary Maldivian policy serves as a stark illustration of how a blend of missteps in public posturing, populist agendas and inattentive leadership can lead to diplomatic setbacks and damage a country’s long-term foreign policy priorities. Over the past few months, Maldivian foreign policy has entangled itself in playing
A group of Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) lawmakers led by the party’s legislative caucus whip Fu Kun-chi (?) are to visit Beijing for four days this week, but some have questioned the timing and purpose of the visit, which demonstrates the KMT caucus’ increasing arrogance. Fu on Wednesday last week confirmed that following an invitation by Beijing, he would lead a group of lawmakers to China from Thursday to Sunday to discuss tourism and agricultural exports, but he refused to say whether they would meet with Chinese officials. That the visit is taking place during the legislative session and in the aftermath