The Year in Review: Top 10 Taiwan Stories

1.

SARS outbreak kills 37 people in Taiwan

Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) was first introduced to Taiwan as a mere "atypical pneumonia of unknown etiology" when two patients reported unusual symptoms to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) in mid-March.

But by June, SARS had claimed a total of 37 lives from at least 346 suspected cases, according to World Health Organization figures. Reports at the time doubled the fatality rate until a later analysis of causes of death corrected the toll.

More recently, a SARS case that apparently resulted from a laboratory mishap was reported on Dec. 17, reviving fears of a resurgence of SARS in Taiwan.

The darkest hours of the outbreak came with the isolation of the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital on April 27 after an escalating number of suspected cases there. Nine-hundred-and-thirty staff members and 240 patients were quarantined inside the hospital for two weeks. Thirty-five of those quarantined at the time died, though not all because of SARS, while one person committed suicide.

The economy was also hit hard by the outbreak. A survey of Taipei's 150 business associations at the end of May indicated that trade was down 30 percent on the previous month and 40 percent on the same period last year. The numbers of outbound travelers and inbound tourists fell by 60 percent and 50 percent respectively in April. Then, a damaging travel advisory against non-essential travel was placed on Taiwan on May 8 and this was not lifted until June 17.

The CDC has drafted new policies to deal with infectious diseases in the future, including the formation of an Infection Prevention Medical Care Network which would assign certain hospitals to the treatment of infectious diseases.

--by Joy Su

2.

Legislature passes Referendum Law

A historic but contested Referendum Law (公民投票法) was enacted after opposition Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and People First Party (PFP) legislators performed an about-face in response to overwhelming public support.

For a considerable period, pan-blue politicians considered the referendum proposal to be a threat to the cross-strait status quo, fearing that the pan-green camp would use the referendum to agitate for Taiwanese independence.

Buckling under public pressure, the opposition-controlled legislature instead passed a watered-down Referendum Law on Nov. 27. The law granted legislators the right to call a referendum while even preventing the Executive Yuan from calling advisory polls, with jail terms awaiting those officials who dared to try.

The public was also prohibited from initiating a referendum, bans were placed on critical subjects such as sovereignty and a new constitution and all proposals were subject to approval by a Referendum Supervisory Committee.

The law disappointed Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Trong Chai (蔡同榮), a leading referendum advocate. He drafted the first referendum bill, which allowed the people to change the nation's title, flag and anthem as well as territorial boundaries.

The president was the only officer in the government permitted to call a referendum, and then only a "defensive referendum," which would be triggered in response to a threat to the nation's sovereignty. The DPP and its pan-green ally, the Taiwan Solidarity Union, dissatisfied with the emaciated law, said it caged the people's power. The Executive Yuan filed a request to the legislature to reconsider the legislation in mid-December, but this request was vetoed on Dec. 20.