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WHO blasted over bird flu mapping

"This is an unbearable and unforgivable mistake."

Michael Kau, vice minister of foreign affairs

The government will continue its protest against the World Health Organization's (WHO) inclusion of Taiwan on maps of countries affected by the virulent H5N1 bird flu virus until a correction is made, health and foreign ministry official said yesterday.

There have been no reports of H5N1 infection in Taiwan among either poultry or humans. The WHO, which adheres to the "one China" policy, lists the nation as "Taiwan, a province of China" in official documents.

Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂) yesterday said that the WHO had made a serious "technical" mistake and was misleading the world by including Taiwan on the map of bird flu affected areas on its Web site.

"This is an unbearable and unforgivable mistake," Kau said.

"We reserve our right to take legal action against the WHO. Even though the WHO might enjoy a certain measure of immunity because it is a UN organization, we could still take action if Taiwan incurs serious economic damage [as a result of the inclusion with China]," Kau said.

He said that the WHO had violated the International Health Regulations (IHR) by categorizing the nation as a bird flu affected area without confirming the facts with the Taipei authorities first.

Chang Wu-hsiu (張武修), director of the Department of Health's (DOH) Bureau of International Cooperation, said that the department had written a strongly-worded letter of protest to the WHO requesting that the mistake be corrected immediately.

The DOH also requested that related medical periodicals correct any mistaken reports stemming from the WHO listing, Chang said.

The matter has been clarified with Japan, the US and Singapore, which are working closely with Taiwan in keeping the disease at bay, Chang added.

The WHO said yesterday that it would look into the matter following a written protest filed by the nation's representative in Geneva.

In a letter that was sent to the WHO Secretariat on Wednesday, Representative to Geneva Shen Lu-hsiun (沈呂巡) said that listing Taiwan as an area affected by the H5N1 strain of the virus because the WHO considers Taiwan a province of China was absolutely unacceptable.

Shen demanded that the WHO correct the mistake at once.

During a press conference held yesterday morning in Geneva, the WHO clarified that Taiwan is not an affected area.

WHO spokesman Gregory Hartl held the press conference in response to media inquiries.

In response to a question on why Taiwan is the same color as China on its bird flu maps, WHO officials replied that this was done because the organization regards Taiwan as a province of China.
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