In the wake of Typhoon Morakot, the A(H1N1) influenza has begun to spread and cause widespread concern.
Former health minister Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) predicts that 30 percent of the population in Taiwan will be infected. Having participated in the prevention of SARS in 2002, former Centers for Disease Control (CDC) director-general Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁) said 5,000 to 10,000 people could die. Su proposed putting off the year-end mayoral and county commissioner elections to prevent the flu from spreading.
Despite the fact that many middle schools have suspended classes and that flu vaccines in hospitals are insufficient to meet demand, the government has shown little interest in suggestions from experts.
Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄) suggested in a recent disaster control meeting that military personnel, volunteers and residents in disaster zones wear masks while relief efforts continue.
However, it is puzzling that President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) chose not to call a national security meeting of legislators from across party lines to initiate national security mechanisms. Instead, he met disease control experts to discuss measures to fight swine flu.
Ma said the reason for not calling a national security meeting was that H1N1 is still under control.
The question of preventing and controlling swine flu will require the best of health expertise.
It is ignorant of Ma to say H1N1 was under control and worrying that he assumes this attitude toward a disease that could threaten the lives of thousands of people.
The Cabinet should not dismiss the warnings and suggestions of experts as “alarmist.”
The victims of Morakot in central, southern and eastern Taiwan are living in bacteria-infested environments. Hundreds of soldiers and volunteers have contracted H1N1 and skin diseases. The government seems to be taking the same slack attitude toward the influenza as it did toward Morakot.
Although the typhoon caused tremendous losses, Ma delayed holding a high-level meeting until it was clear that several hundred people had died.
What are the chances, therefore, that Ma would call a national security meeting when “only” a few people have died of swine flu?
The standard for calling a national security meeting should not be the number of people who have died in a crisis. Ma seems unaware that threats against national security include everything from military invasion to unconventional threats. Natural disasters and plague may cause more loss of life than war. A foreign invasion could possibly be averted through talks, but natural disasters and diseases don’t sit down to negotiate.
The purpose of calling a national security meeting is to assess the risk of an epidemic.
The government should connect public healthcare systems at all levels to build a comprehensive disease control system.
It is important for the government to use all channels of communication, including schools and enterprises, to inform the public about how to avoid H1N1.
The government should inform the public how to seek medical attention if they contract H1N1 and how those who may be infected with the disease should isolate themselves.
These measures may seem tedious but are necessary.
If a national security meeting is not called, calls on the public to work together to prevent swine flu from spreading will only be empty talk.
Since the government first issued warnings of the virus, no comprehensive, aggressive disease control measures have been taken except for broadcasting a short informative clip from the Department of Health on TV and distributing flyers to advise the public to wash their hands frequently.
Ma may feel that national security meetings should not be called too often lest he abuse his powers. This way of thinking fits his back-seat approach to politics. But if Ma won’t use or does not know how to use security mechanisms — and given that National Security Council (NSC) officials are emulating Ma’s passivity — the question is whether there is any point in having the council.
It is pardonable that NSC staffers are not medical experts, but not that they seem to lack any sense of social and national security risks.
They must understand that threats to national security come in a variety of forms, both conventional and non-conventional.
Shu Chin-chiang is a former advisory committee member of the National Security Council.
TRANSLATED BY TED YANG
Wherever one looks, the United States is ceding ground to China. From foreign aid to foreign trade, and from reorganizations to organizational guidance, the Trump administration has embarked on a stunning effort to hobble itself in grappling with what his own secretary of state calls “the most potent and dangerous near-peer adversary this nation has ever confronted.” The problems start at the Department of State. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has asserted that “it’s not normal for the world to simply have a unipolar power” and that the world has returned to multipolarity, with “multi-great powers in different parts of the
President William Lai (賴清德) recently attended an event in Taipei marking the end of World War II in Europe, emphasizing in his speech: “Using force to invade another country is an unjust act and will ultimately fail.” In just a few words, he captured the core values of the postwar international order and reminded us again: History is not just for reflection, but serves as a warning for the present. From a broad historical perspective, his statement carries weight. For centuries, international relations operated under the law of the jungle — where the strong dominated and the weak were constrained. That
The Executive Yuan recently revised a page of its Web site on ethnic groups in Taiwan, replacing the term “Han” (漢族) with “the rest of the population.” The page, which was updated on March 24, describes the composition of Taiwan’s registered households as indigenous (2.5 percent), foreign origin (1.2 percent) and the rest of the population (96.2 percent). The change was picked up by a social media user and amplified by local media, sparking heated discussion over the weekend. The pan-blue and pro-China camp called it a politically motivated desinicization attempt to obscure the Han Chinese ethnicity of most Taiwanese.
The Legislative Yuan passed an amendment on Friday last week to add four national holidays and make Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors — a move referred to as “four plus one.” The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP), who used their combined legislative majority to push the bill through its third reading, claim the holidays were chosen based on their inherent significance and social relevance. However, in passing the amendment, they have stuck to the traditional mindset of taking a holiday just for the sake of it, failing to make good use of
RSS