Scholars and medical professionals in Taiwan welcomed the passage yesterday of a bill by the US House of Representatives that supports Taiwan's participation in international organizations, especially the World Health Organization (WHO).
"We need to have the kind of information the WHO can provide to protect ourselves from disea-ses," said Liu Bi-rong (
According to National Chengchi University professor Li Deng-ker (
"It's two-way street," he said. "Those who are opposed to Taiwan's entrance are uncivilized nations."
Over the past two years, Taiwan has been hit by two major epidemics, both of which have had implications for national health and the economy. A bout of foot-and-mouth disease wiped out much of the island's pork export market in the spring of 1997, during which 2.85 million pigs either died or were put to death. Later the same year, an outbreak of enterovirus -- a stomach virus affecting mostly youngsters -- left as many as 55 children dead before being brought under control.
The impact of both, experts argue, could have been lessened if Taiwan had been a WHO member.
"We should ignore the politics and consider the human rights and humanitarian interests of Taiwan's entrance into the organization," said Doctor Deng Jau-fang (
MPAT has been lobbying for admission to WHO for the last seven years.
Taiwan lost its membership at all UN-affiliated agencies after it was replaced by the People's Republic of China in 1971.
Such attempts to further Taiwan's entrance into the WHO will undoubtedly trigger strong protest from China, but Li and others said such opposition was as meddlesome as China's interference in aid efforts during the recent quake.
"China may have its reasons for keeping Taiwan from the UN but it should not block it from entering the WHO," Li said.
The bill has to be passed by the Senate and requires the signature of the president before it becomes binding. This is unlikely to happen, given the administration's policy toward China.
Liu said that with upcoming elections in the US, the move by Congress was one of many recent political maneuvers to reflect badly on the Clinton administration's China policy.
The bill requires that Secretary of State, Madeline Albright, deliver a report to Congress on the efforts the US has made to help Taiwan enter international organizations.
In 1994, the US declared its intention of supporting Taiwan's participation in a number of international organizations.
Such a request promises to be a sticking point for the Clinton administration, which previously said it opposed Taiwan's participation in organizations that require statehood. As such, it is not expected to be passed into law.
The bill itself suggests that Taiwan should have "appropriate and meaningful participation in the World Health Organization," but does not call for full fledged membership.
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