Stressing that diseases know no boundaries, a government official based in New York called for world attention to be paid to the country's efforts in fighting severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and for Taiwan to be admitted to the World Health Organization (WHO).
SARS has now spread to four continents, infecting around 2,500 people and killing more than 103 as of Monday.
Andrew Hsia (夏立言), Director-General of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York, cited the WHO Constitution as stating that "the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition."
As soon as SARS cases were suspected in Taiwan, health authorities reported the situation to the WHO, requesting a visit from experts and expressing the desire to join in the international effort to deal with the crisis.
"But our initial appeal was ignored," Hsia said, adding that "Beijing, it seems, refuses to put aside politics even when the health and safety of millions is at stake."
Another passage in the WHO Constitution states that "the health of all peoples is fundamental to the attainment of peace and security and is dependent upon the fullest cooperation of individuals and states."
The nation has worked diligently to meet this standard, despite being left out of the WHO, Hsia said. China, on the other hand, is a member of the WHO but has refused to cooperate fully with the organization, he added.
It has been widely reported that Beijing has delayed giving permission for medical experts to travel to Guangdong Province, where the disease is believed to have originated and where most cases have occurred. To make matters worse, China apparently endeavored to suppress early reports of SARS and did not notify the WHO of the spreading illness until the situation became too serious to conceal effectively.
All the while, Hsia pointed out, Beijing has stubbornly maintained that Taiwan should not be allowed a role in the world's most important health organization.
He recalled that the nation was also hindered from obtaining crucial WHO aid and information in 1998, when an enterovirus epidemic spread to the country from abroad. At that time, a great number of people were infected, with 80 people dying and a total of some US$1 billion in economic losses being incurred. The 1998 epidemic was just one of several instances in which the nation's exclusion from the WHO created difficulties, he added.
Yet, despite Beijing's attempts to isolate the nation, Hsia said, Taiwan has persisted in its efforts to provide humanitarian aid to people in need all over the world.
"Sponsored by both Taiwan's government and NGOs, our medical experts and aid workers have provided relief and assistance in such disaster and war-stricken places as El Salvador, Afghanistan, South Africa, Chad, Peru and the Eastern Caribbean," Hsia noted.
"We are committed not only to ensuring the health of people in Taiwan, but of people in every corner of the world," he added.
Now, he said, many human lives are potentially in jeopardy, and it should be very clear to all parties that excluding the nation from the WHO is both unreasonable and dangerous.
"To ensure health for all, political posturing must be dismissed," he said, adding that "Taiwan should be allowed to join fully in international action to fight the spread of SARS, and our people should be allowed representation in the WHO."
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