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.
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