The World Health Organization (WHO) invited PFP Legislator Kao Ming-chien (
Kao was among the last group of experts recommended by China to the WHO to join the conference and most experts of the group on the same list were from China's Shanxi and Hebei Provinces, where SARS cases have been reported, sources said.
Taiwan's delegation to Kuala Lumpur, headed by Director of Center for Disease Control (CDC) Su Ih-jen (
Before the delegation's departure for Malaysia, the Cabinet clearly stated that Kao was not a member of the delegation. Kao arrived at Kuala Lumpur yesterday, whereas the government's delegation arrived on Sunday.
The two-day SARS conference kicks off today in Malaysia's Sunway Lagoon Resort Hotel, close to the nation's capital city Kuala Lumpur. Participants from 192 countries will be joining the conference on the 21st century's first emerging disease.
The Department of Health recommended four Taiwanese experts to attend the conference. The WHO accepted all four.
Two of them, Chang Shang-chwen (
The doctors lost their opportunity to attend the conference, however, because they -- after having handled SARS patients -- did not have enough time to isolate themselves for 10 days to fulfill the conference's health regulations for participants from affected areas.
The other two experts recommended by the government to attend the conference are Su and Ho Mei-shang (何美鄉), an Academia Sinica researcher. Both were invited to speak at the conference.
Sources said high-ranking officials at the Geneva-based WHO headquarters informed the Taiwanese government that a fifth Taiwanese expert would be invited to the conference without the government's recommendation several weeks before the event.
"The WHO's decision-making process to invite the Taiwanese experts to the conference was so complicated that WHO Director-General [Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland] had to get personally involved to settle the issue," the official said.
The WHO's invitation letters to the four Taiwanese experts to join the conference were e-mailed to Beijing on June 6. The Beijing-based Chinese Medical Association delivered the letters to Taiwan last Tuesday, sources said.
Upon receiving the letters, the DOH asked the WHO to change the contents of the letters because they indicated that Taiwan was a part of China. The WHO then sent another set of invitations directly to the experts on Wednesday.
"By the second time the WHO sent its invitations to Taiwan, it was already too late for Chang and Chen to isolate themselves," a source said.
"If the WHO had directly sent the letters to Taiwan on June 6, the doctors would have been able to attend the conference," the source added.
The WHO's invitation to Kao reached Taiwan on Thursday and indicated in French that Taiwan was a province of China.
Kao, who did not move to ask the WHO to alter his invitation letter, said upon his arrival at Kuala Lumpur that the conference should focus on technical rather than political issues.
The Taiwanese delegation is prepared for China to introduce Kao as a member of its delegation at the conference to manifest its claim of sovereignty over Taiwan.
Su said the Taiwanese delegation is prepared for any action China may take at the conference that will affect Taiwan's national status.
China may list Taiwan as one of its provinces in today's morning conference session entitled "National Response" or Chinese experts may attempt to answer participants' questions about Taiwan's SARS outbreak.
The Taiwanese delegation planned to hold an international press conference immediately after today's "National Response" session to clarify Taiwan's status if China claimed Taiwan as one of its provinces in its SARS report, officials said.
Also see stories:
331 deaths re-checked for SARS
Team finds Hoping did not cover up SARS cases
Su Ih-jen scores small victory at SARS talks
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
FLOOD RECOVERY: “Post-Typhoon Danas reconstruction special act” is expected to be approved on Thursday, the premier said, adding the flood control in affected areas would be prioritized About 200cm of rainfall fell in parts of southern Taiwan from Monday last week to 9am yesterday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Kaohsiung’s Taoyuan District (桃源) saw total rainfall of 2,205mm, while Pingtung County’s Sandimen Township (三地門) had 2,060.5mm and Tainan’s Nanhua District (南化) 1,833mm, according to CWA data. Meanwhile, Alishan (阿里山) in Chiayi County saw 1,688mm of accumulated rain and Yunlin County’s Caoling (草嶺) had 1,025mm. The Pingtung County Government said that 831 local residents have been pre-emptively evacuated from mountainous areas. A total of 576 are staying with relatives in low-lying areas, while the other 255 are in shelters. CWA forecaster