Sat, Dec 22, 2001 page8

• Letters:

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  Don't abuse medical care

  An old veteran was in the news recently for having made more than 700 visits to doctors this year alone. Such an excessive number of visits is an obvious waste of medical resources. However, authorities said "he still has the right to join the health-insurance program because the government has already paid all the fees for him."

  This case might be unique, but I think it shows that a large proportion of people still think that they have to go to the hospital as often as possible. They would rather get some vitamins or pills in a hospital than think they are paying for medical insurance without using it.

  I think medical resources should be reserved for people in need, not divided equally among everyone. As a medical student, I think it is necessary for insurance fees to be scaled according to income levels. And I think service charges should be increased, especially at large hospitals, so that our limited resources won't be wasted by those who don't need them.

  If we want higher quality care, we also have to reduce the huge numbers of patients a doctor has to see in a day.

  Taiwan's health-insurance system makes medical coverage much cheaper than it is in the West, so the pubic should not expect doctors to provide services at Western levels. If we want to have higher quality care, we should be willing to pay higher insurance fees.

  Chou Wei-ting

  Taipei

  No one is perfect

  In recent months, several editorials and comments appearing in the Taipei Times criticized Taiwan's "violation of human rights," most notably from Brian Kennedy. My question is: What constitutes human rights and what is the definition of "violation"? There appears to be a double standard.

  Having grown up in Taiwan during the martial law era, I have witnessed probably the most dramatic transformation of a government from an authoritarian regime to the most vibrant democracy in Asia. We still have a long way to go. But I have faith that we will get there. Being educated in the US, I have also witnessed the workings of a "graying" democracy and the "land of opportunity." But I don't think everyone concurs with the definition of "human rights" used by the US.

  The Taiwan-born American scientist Lee Wen-ho (李文和) was held in a US jail for 10 months without charges, in solitary confinement and shackled with handcuffs and chains. I am not going to comment on the pros or cons of the espionage case against him, but Lee's civil rights were clearly violated.

  I have always believed that the US should be a role model for respect of human rights. But often when Americans leave US soil, the concept of "rule of law" is thrown out of window.

  During the Vietnam War, Lieutenant William Calley was tried for murder -- and acquitted -- for directing his men to fire point blank at Vietnamese civilians in My Lai, killing more than 500 mostly unarmed women and children.

  In Okinawa, there are repeated stories of US servicemen accused of raping under-age girls and the US officials deliberately delaying the transfer of the suspects to Japanese authorities. CNN has reported that the US is concerned about the "rights" of the servicemen in the hands of the Japanese authorities, but the pain and the suffering of the victims and their families were never mentioned.

  Here in Taiwan we all know about the vandalism committed by a kid from the Taipei American School and his taunting of the police and the authorities.

  Many times I hear and read about comments and editorials by our American friends here which are not only politically incorrect, but racist. These people would lose their jobs if they made the same comments in the US.

  How do we combat this sort of arrogance and condescen-sion? Its simple: Respect one another. Remember that everyone we see is the most important person to somebody.

  Kenny Liu

  Hualien
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