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Taipei loses delegates to WHO meet

Two Taiwanese experts invited by the World Health Organization (WHO) to join the global SARS conference in Malaysia will not attend the event because of WHO travel regulations, the Department of Health (DOH) said yesterday.

Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁), director of Center for Disease Control (CDC), said Chang Shang-chwen (張上淳) and Chen Pei-jer (陳培哲), two doctors from National Taiwan University Hospital, cannot join the conference because they have been in contact with SARS patients.

According to the health advisory of the WHO SARS conference, participants arriving from areas with recent local transmission can only attend the event under certain conditions.

"A person who has (1.) in the last 10 days been in close contact with a SARS case or (2.) has worked in or visited hospitals handling SARS cases should not travel within or outside the country of exposure," the health advisory said.

The advisory adds that participants having the above conditions are allowed to travel within or outside the country after a 10-day period without exposure to SARS patients or hospitals handling SARS cases has passed.

"It was already too late for Chang and Chen to isolate themselves after the WHO's invitation cards, which were sent by a third agency, arrived in Taiwan. The arrival date of the cards was only five or six days away from the conference time," Su said.

Su, who did not clarify whether the "third agency" referred to China, said the lack of a "formal and transparent" communication channel between the WHO and Taiwan has caused problems for the Taiwanese experts who have been invited to attend the SARS conference.

The WHO invited five Taiwanese experts to attend the SARS conference due to be held in Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, close to the nation's capital Kuala Lumpur, on Tuesday and Wednesday.

The other three experts who were invited were Su, Academia Sinica researcher Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), and PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien (高明見).

Taiwan's delegation to the conference, consisting of more than 10 health officials and headed by Su, will depart for Malaysia this morning.

"This is the first time the WHO has invited Taiwan to attend its international conference and present papers," Su said.

In a press conference held in the DOH yesterday afternoon, Cabinet Secretary-General Liu Shih-fang (劉世芳) introduced members of the delegation and their mission.

Kao, the fifth Taiwanese expert invited by the WHO to attend the conference, however, was absent from the delegation. His name was bypassed during the introduction of the delegation members.

"All delegation members here represent our government ? Kao was not an official delegate appointed by our government," Liu said.

Liu also noted the government is well prepared to respond to any move China may try to make to affect Taiwan's national status in the conference.

"The WHO should treat China and Taiwan equally," Liu said.

Meanwhile, Su said Taiwan will try to present a report in a conference entitled "National Response," which five countries and one region will attend.

Even if Taiwan fails to present the report, the delegation has prepared reports based on Taiwan's containment of SARS to distribute to participants at the conference, Su said.
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