Countering statements made by China's Taiwan Affairs Office yesterday afternoon, Center for Disease Control Director General Su Ih-jen (蘇益仁) called an emergency press conference last night to clarify that Beijing has not been taking care of the health needs of the people of Taiwan as Chinese officials had claimed.
"Whether Taiwan is invited to observe at the World Health Assembly is not just about Taiwan-China relations," Su said.
He cited three examples to argue that Taiwan's healthcare needs had not been met by Chinese health authorities and that China had refrained from promptly and accurately reporting on its difficulties with infectious disease.
"The first example is SARS," Su said. "By the time China reported their SARS situation in January, there were already 130 patients in a Guangdong hospital. The first SARS patient had actually been identified in November."
The case of avian flu discovered in Hong Kong in 1997 was also a case in point, Su said. He noted that by the time the Hong Kong's bird-flu case was reported, Guangdong had already seen several cases of the disease.
"Hong Kong was the first victim. This just shows that closer health ties with China actually leads only to greater risks," Su said.
The third example Su raised was that of HIV/AIDS. He explained that while China had not admitted to the existence of several "AIDS villages" in China until two years ago, AIDS villages were already a problem 10 years ago.
Su called the press conference in the absence of Department of Health Director General Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), who is now in Germany.
Su also rebutted Beijing's claim that Taiwanese researchers were invited to medical conferences in China.
"Every year, before the World Health Assembly is held, China holds several medical conferences and invites several Taiwanese researchers to attend," Su said.
"If Taiwan needs information on China right now, it comes from other nations that China has communicated with or from the WHO," Su said.
"Only if Taiwan participates in the WHO will we be able to exchange health information and experiences of prevention with other nations," Su said.
The manufacture of the remaining 28 M1A2T Abrams tanks Taiwan purchased from the US has recently been completed, and they are expected to be delivered within the next one to two months, a source said yesterday. The Ministry of National Defense is arranging cargo ships to transport the tanks to Taiwan as soon as possible, said the source, who is familiar with the matter. The estimated arrival time ranges from late this month to early next month, the source said. The 28 Abrams tanks make up the third and final batch of a total of 108 tanks, valued at about NT$40.5 billion
Two Taiwanese prosecutors were questioned by Chinese security personnel at their hotel during a trip to China’s Henan Province this month, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. The officers had personal information on the prosecutors, including “when they were assigned to their posts, their work locations and job titles,” MAC Deputy Minister and spokesman Liang Wen-chieh (梁文傑) said. On top of asking about their agencies and positions, the officers also questioned the prosecutors about the Cross-Strait Joint Crime-Fighting and Judicial Mutual Assistance Agreement, a pact that serves as the framework for Taiwan-China cooperation on combating crime and providing judicial assistance, Liang
A group from the Taiwanese Designers in Australia association yesterday represented Taiwan at the Midsumma Pride March in Melbourne. The march, held in the St. Kilda suburb, is the city’s largest LGBTQIA+ parade and the flagship event of the annual Midsumma Festival. It attracted more than 45,000 spectators who supported the 400 groups and 10,000 marchers that participated this year, the association said. Taiwanese Designers said they organized a team to march for Taiwan this year, joining politicians, government agencies, professionals and community organizations in showing support for LGBTQIA+ people and diverse communities. As the first country in Asia to legalize same-sex
MOTIVES QUESTIONED The PLA considers Xi’s policies toward Taiwan to be driven by personal considerations rather than military assessment, the Epoch Times reports Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) latest purge of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) leadership might have been prompted by the military’s opposition to plans of invading Taiwan, the Epoch Times said. The Chinese military opposes waging war against Taiwan by a large consensus, putting it at odds with Xi’s vision, the Falun Gong-affiliated daily said in a report on Thursday, citing anonymous sources with insight into the PLA’s inner workings. The opposition is not the opinion of a few generals, but a widely shared view among the PLA cadre, the Epoch Times cited them as saying. “Chinese forces know full well that
RSS