The Department of Health plans to protest a decision by the World Health Organization (WHO) to leave Taiwan off a list of a polio-free countries that was released in Kyoto, Japan on Sunday.
Thirty-seven countries in the western Pacific region were declared polio-free by the organization. China was also on the list, and Taiwan was included as a part of China.
"The success of polio eradication in Taiwan does not equate to China's situation," Lee Ming-liang (
The WHO said that polio had been eradicated in 37 countries, including China, Hong Kong, Japan, South Korea and Vietnam. That led the group to declare the west Pacific region polio-free, the second region in the world since the Americas in 1994 to receive the designation.
Health officials noted yesterday that Taiwan has been polio-free since 1985, as there have been no reported cases since that year.
"But mainly for political reasons the WHO has overlooked Taiwan's accomplishment in polio eradication," Lee said.
Hsu Hsu-mei (
"But Taiwan is not a WHO member state and was excluded," Hsu said.
The Republic of China was one of the WHO's founding members and has donated funds to its worldwide polio eradication program.
"The WHO still allows political issues to distort recognition of Taiwan's achievement," members of the Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan (台灣醫界聯盟) said yesterday.
Health officials established the Taiwan Polio Eradication Certification Committee in 1996. Two years later, Tony Adams, chairman of the WHO's west Pacific regional operations, was invited to Taiwan to learn more about the eradication of polio in this country.
"The WHO de facto recognized Taiwan as polio-free, otherwise it wouldn't declare the west Pacific region as polio-free," Hsu said.
The WHO's list on Sunday did not include North Korea and Indonesia. Despite the WHO's political snubs, health department officials said yesterday that Taiwan was committed to helping the organization eradicate polio around the world by 2005.
"We've donated more than US$1 million through Rotary International to the WHO's worldwide polio eradication program last year," Hsu said. "Taiwan will donate US$10 million, divided between the government and Rotary International in Taiwan, to WHO in installments over five years."
But health officials noted that Taiwan won't be recognized on the WHO's donor list because the sponsorship was done through Rotary International. The WHO declined to accept Taiwan's donation in the name of Taiwan.
Despite the WHO's exclusion, officials say they support the organization's goal of fighting disease around the world.
"Following the WHO's goal, our next target is measles," Hsu said. "We will devote ourselves to its eradication and will show the world Taiwan's success in public health."
The US government has signed defense cooperation agreements with Japan and the Philippines to boost the deterrence capabilities of countries in the first island chain, a report by the National Security Bureau (NSB) showed. The main countries on the first island chain include the two nations and Taiwan. The bureau is to present the report at a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee tomorrow. The US military has deployed Typhon missile systems to Japan’s Yamaguchi Prefecture and Zambales province in the Philippines during their joint military exercises. It has also installed NMESIS anti-ship systems in Japan’s Okinawa
‘WIN-WIN’: The Philippines, and central and eastern European countries are important potential drone cooperation partners, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung said Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) in an interview published yesterday confirmed that there are joint ventures between Taiwan and Poland in the drone industry. Lin made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (the Taipei Times’ sister paper). The government-backed Taiwan Excellence Drone International Business Opportunities Alliance and the Polish Chamber of Unmanned Systems on Wednesday last week signed a memorandum of understanding in Poland to develop a “non-China” supply chain for drones and work together on key technologies. Asked if Taiwan prioritized Poland among central and eastern European countries in drone collaboration, Lin
NO CONFIDENCE MOTION? The premier said that being toppled by the legislature for defending the Constitution would be a democratic badge of honor for him Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) yesterday announced that the Cabinet would not countersign the amendments to the local revenue-sharing law passed by the Legislative Yuan last month. Cho said the decision not to countersign the amendments to the Act Governing the Allocation of Government Revenues and Expenditures (財政收支劃分法) was made in accordance with the Constitution. “The decision aims to safeguard our Constitution,” he said. The Constitution stipulates the president shall, in accordance with law, promulgate laws and issue mandates with the countersignature of the head of the Executive Yuan, or with the countersignatures of both the head of the Executive Yuan and ministers or
BACK TO WORK? Prosecutors said they are considering filing an appeal, while the Hsinchu City Government said it has applied for Ann Kao’s reinstatement as mayor The High Court yesterday found suspended Hsinchu mayor Ann Kao (高虹安) not guilty of embezzling assistant fees, reducing her sentence to six months in prison commutable to a fine from seven years and four months. The verdict acquitted Kao of the corruption charge, but found her guilty of causing a public official to commit document forgery. The High Prosecutors’ Office said it is reviewing the ruling and considering whether to file an appeal. The Taipei District Court in July last year sentenced Kao to seven years and four months in prison, along with a four-year deprivation of civil rights, for contravening the Anti-Corruption
RSS