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Editorial: WHA gesture too little, too late

On Tuesday, the World Health Assembly (WHA) passed a resolution requiring the World Health Organization (WHO) to respond to all requests for assistance with SARS surveillance, prevention and control. A reasonable and sensible interpretation of the amendment would seem to require that the international health body respond to calls for help from Taiwan, since the new language does not require official membership.

While the move is seen by many as a belated token gesture designed to somehow make up for the discriminatory treatment and exclusion of Taiwan, the backing of the nation's allies, primarily the US and Japan, deserves the appreciation and recognition of people here.

The spread of the epidemic is at last appearing to ease. The Department of Health is even talking about the hope of being removed from the WHO's travel advisory list by the middle of the month. Yet the amendment comes too late to have much practical impact.

Taiwan needs the WHO's assistance in many areas besides the fight against SARS. For example, with the arrival of summer, other communicable diseases such as dengue fever and enterovirus, which have hit Taiwan every year around this time, are making a comeback. What if another epidemic even more lethal than SARS hits the world? Will Taiwan experience the same lack of cooperation from the WHO before receiving any help? In other words, the piecemeal remedy being offered to deal with Taiwan is no remedy at all.

This is not to mention the fact that whether the amendment's ambiguous language will be interpreted in Taiwan's favor is entirely at the discretion of the WHO director-general. Given China's record, no one should underestimate Beijing's ability to coerce an interpretation hostile toward Taiwan.

Moreover, the amendment does not allow Taiwan to play an active role in the international community to fight SARS. Having experienced a tough fight virtually on its own, surely Taiwan has much to contribute in this regard.

For the sake of the people here and around the world, the only real solution to this gap in the global disease-prevention network is at a minimum Taiwan's observer status at the WHO.

But even this well-meaning gesture from the WHA,albeit a token one, was enough to trigger a temper tantrum from China. Reportedly, Sha Zukang (沙祖康), China's representative to the UN in Geneva, shouted at the WHA, saying China will "play the game to the end" with any country that politicizes efforts to fight SARS.

Sha went on to make a statement that is completely at odds with human-rights principles -- that nothing is more important than preserving the integrity of national territory and sovereignty, the fight against SARS included. Sha's conduct makes plain Beijing's egotism and disregard for human life. Countries that have sided with China on the issue of Taiwan's WHO observer status should be ashamed of themselves.

Another group of people in Taiwan should also be ashamed of themselves. A cross-strait videoconference convened by PFP lawmakers, which was supposed to be entirely an academic exchange on SARS, was twisted by China during the WHA meeting as evidence of its "assistance" to Taiwan. Yet these lawmakers convened another such meeting last Wednesday. With countrymen like this, who needs enemies?
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