According to the United Daily News, a World Health Organization (WHO) expert said in an interview with a Hong Kong newspaper, Wen Wei Po, that WHO experts, in the absence of China's consent, will be unable to accept Taiwan's invitation for a visit. Although everyone is familiar with China's pressure on Taiwan, and WHO experts feel powerless to change the situation, I would like to share my views, after recently visiting Japan and South Korea to lobby for Taiwan's entry into the WHO.
First, many people, including Chinese Health Minister Zhang Wenkang (張文康), believe Taiwan is pursuing a political objective by taking advantage of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) problem to gain entry into the WHO. I do not deny that political pressure is the greatest obstacle to the nation's admission to the WHO, but I want to clarify that the so-called political problem faced by Taiwan has many dimensions.
China's obstruction is one of these dimensions. Taiwan's appeal following the SARS outbreak is absolutely out of consideration for people's health. Politics is the kind of trouble from which we want to keep away at a time like this. WHO experts felt uneasy and powerless when they faced the problem of not being able to visit Taiwan. Does this seem like a situation where Taiwan is ignoring the people's health rights or is using the people's health rights as the means to achieve a political objective?
In the spirit of WHO's purpose and value, the WHO, China and Taiwan should put aside their political debate until the World Health Assembly has an opportunity to discuss Taipei's request for admission to the organization. Otherwise, after spending almost 10 years in a blind alley we still have no way out in terms of resolving a pressing public health issue. Finally, the SARS epidemic has offered us a shortcut. Therefore, Taiwan should look at the big picture from a different angle by considering its contribution to preventing the spread of the SARS epidemic. The government should share its SARS-prevention and treatment experiences and techniques with the world, in order to facilitate international exchange for the nation's medical profession.
During my recent trip abroad, I had the opportunity to discuss the country's situation with ex-WHO experts. They are interested in neither the political struggle between Taiwan and China, which is clearly a political reality that cannot be helped, nor Taipei's presence in the international arena. On the contrary, they are most interested in Taiwan's implementation of SARS-control measures and medical treatment. They believe this nation's expertise in fighting SARS is valuable, an area in which Taiwan can show its knowledge and ability.
I do not deny the political problem between Taiwan and the WHO. Instead, the political problem is still the greatest obstacle that deprives the Taiwanese people of their health rights, which should not be ignored. The political problem is not this country's fault. However, we need to treat the complexity of this political problem with great prudence, making it a long-term goal to push for Taiwan's entry into the WHO.
In the meantime, we should deal with the SARS threat and prevent the spread of the disease as quickly as possible, by making the international community aware of the nation's importance and contribution to the world. It will be a blessing for Taiwan if other countries get to know us this way.
Wu Shuh-min is the president of the Foundation of Medical Professionals Alliance in Taiwan.
Translated by Grace Shaw
The EU’s biggest banks have spent years quietly creating a new way to pay that could finally allow customers to ditch their Visa Inc and Mastercard Inc cards — the latest sign that the region is looking to dislodge two of the most valuable financial firms on the planet. Wero, as the project is known, is now rolling out across much of western Europe. Backed by 16 major banks and payment processors including BNP Paribas SA, Deutsche Bank AG and Worldline SA, the platform would eventually allow a German customer to instantly settle up with, say, a hotel in France
On August 6, Ukraine crossed its northeastern border and invaded the Russian region of Kursk. After spending more than two years seeking to oust Russian forces from its own territory, Kiev turned the tables on Moscow. Vladimir Putin seemed thrown off guard. In a televised meeting about the incursion, Putin came across as patently not in control of events. The reasons for the Ukrainian offensive remain unclear. It could be an attempt to wear away at the morale of both Russia’s military and its populace, and to boost morale in Ukraine; to undermine popular and elite confidence in Putin’s rule; to
A traffic accident in Taichung — a city bus on Sept. 22 hit two Tunghai University students on a pedestrian crossing, killing one and injuring the other — has once again brought up the issue of Taiwan being a “living hell for pedestrians” and large vehicle safety to public attention. A deadly traffic accident in Taichung on Dec. 27, 2022, when a city bus hit a foreign national, his Taiwanese wife and their one-year-old son in a stroller on a pedestrian crossing, killing the wife and son, had shocked the public, leading to discussions and traffic law amendments. However, just after the
The international community was shocked when Israel was accused of launching an attack on Lebanon by rigging pagers to explode. Most media reports in Taiwan focused on whether the pagers were produced locally, arousing public concern. However, Taiwanese should also look at the matter from a security and national defense perspective. Lebanon has eschewed technology, partly because of concerns that countries would penetrate its telecommunications networks to steal confidential information or launch cyberattacks. It has largely abandoned smartphones and modern telecommunications systems, replacing them with older and relatively basic communications equipment. However, the incident shows that using older technology alone cannot
RSS