DPP legislators yesterday called on the government to halt the issue of visas for travelers from China and Hong Kong in a bid to curb the spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS.
DPP Legislator Chiu Yeong-jen (邱永仁) yesterday raised a proposal to ask the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mainland Affairs Council to suspend the issue of entry visas for travelers from China and Hong Kong because of China's concealment of SARS and the high SARS death rate in Hong Kong.
Chiu yesterday announced the proposal in the Legislature with fellow DPP lawmakers Shieh Ming-yuan (謝明源), and Lin Chung-mo (林重謨) and TSU Legislator Chien Lin Whei-jun (錢林慧君).
More than thirty lawmakers of the pan-green camp have also endorsed the proposal.
"The outbreak of SARS is very serious in China and Hong Kong, however, where the two administrations not only handled the containment of the epidemic ineffectively, but the Chinese government even intentionally concealed the
severity of SARS to the world," Chiu said.
"The Beijing authority had admitted its negligence by sacking its health minister and Beijing's mayor, and Hong Kong's Chief Executive Tung Chee-hwa (董建華) also came under fire for failing to ease the spread of disease.
"It is obvious that both administrations can't control the spread of the disease," he said.
He called on the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Bureau of Consular Affairs and the Mainland Affairs Council to halt the visa issuance to Chinese and Hong Kong residents until the disease is contained in the two places.
Chiu said if Taiwan wants to prevent the spread of SARS, it is important to cut ties with major infectious sources, and such actions are in accordance with the law.
The Communicable Disease Prevention Law (
Shieh said yesterday though the World Health Organization has urged travelers to avoid visiting China and Hong Kong, the government has yet to take any measures regarding travelers from these two areas -- which would lead to a loophole in the nation's SARS prevention network.
He pointed out that since there is a 10-day window for SARS symptoms to become apparent after being infected, the current preventive measures adopted in airports, including testing a passengers' temperature, or filling out SARS investigation forms are not sufficient to guarantee zero transmission of the disease.
"To curb the person-to-person spread of the disease, the most effective method would be to bar residents from China and Hong Kong from entering Taiwan," Shieh said.
Chiu also said Taiwan is not alone in attempting to suspend visas to China and Hong Kong residents as Malaysia has previously done the same by denying entry visas for travelers from the two places.
"The Malaysian government has barred nationals from China and Hong Kong from entering Malaysia in order to reduce the chances of SARS spreading throughout their country. This has proven to be an effective preventive measure," Chiu said.
Deputy director of the council's legal affairs department, Sung Kuo-yeh (
Sung said the council has already started evaluating how to reduce the amount of travelers from China and Hong Kong.
"For those Chinese and Hong Kong travelers who have obtained a Taiwanese visa, we'll try to persuade them not to travel to Taiwan. As for those who wish to apply for visas, we'll tighten our screening process when issuing the visa," Sung said.
Deputy director of the foreign ministry's Department of International Organizations Chieh Wen-chi (
MOFA will cooperate with any operations if the MOI and other related agencies approve the proposal, Chieh said.
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