President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) yesterday appointed Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), the chairman of the government's SARS Advisory Committee as well as a vice chairman of the National Science Council, to lead the nation's delegation to the World Health Assembly (WHA) meeting that opens Monday in Geneva.
Department of Health Director-General Twu Shiing-jer (
Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Michael Kau (高英茂), the highest-ranking foreign ministry official to attend the meeting, left for Geneva last night, while Chen Chien-jen is expected to leave for Geneva tomorrow.
Since Taiwan made an appeal for observer status to the World Health Organization (WHO) in 1997, the government has been sending an official delegation to Geneva annually to promote its bid.
Meanwhile, officials yesterday urged the WHO to lift "quarantine" against Taiwan by giving a green light to Taipei's bid.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Department of Health held a joint press conference yesterday to highlight the necessity for Taiwan to be included in the UN health agency from health perspectives.
Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO system could become a "loophole" in the global fight against SARS, the repercussions of which could be detrimental not only to Taiwan but to the rest of the world, said Minister of Foreign Affairs Eugene Chien (
Twu dubbed Taiwan as "an orphan" in the global fight against SARS since it took seven weeks after the first SARS case was reported in Taiwan for the WHO to dispatch two experts to help contain the outbreak.
"China blocked our WHO bid for political reasons, while disregarding the health of its own people and claiming it takes care of the health of the Taiwanese people. It's an absolute lie," Twu said.
Nine countries have written to WHO Director General Gro Harlem Brundtland to request a proposal to discuss Taipei's bid to join the WHA as a "health authority" to be inserted as a supplementary item on the agenda.
These countries included Burkina Faso, Gambia, Liberia, the Marshall Islands, Palau, Paraguay, St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
David Lee (
The European Parliament was scheduled to discuss a resolution supportive of Taipei's bid yesterday afternoon, while the EU Environment Commissioner Margot Wallstrom was to speak on the issue on behalf of the European Commission in the same setting, Lee said.
The non-binding resolution was expected to sail through the European assembly, officials predicted.
Taiwan yesterday condemned the recent increase in Chinese coast guard-escorted fishing vessels operating illegally in waters around the Pratas Islands (Dongsha Islands, 東沙群島) in the South China Sea. Unusually large groupings of Chinese fishing vessels began to appear around the islands on Feb. 15, when at least six motherships and 29 smaller boats were sighted, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said in a news release. While CGA vessels were dispatched to expel the Chinese boats, Chinese coast guard ships trespassed into Taiwan’s restricted waters and unsuccessfully attempted to interfere, the CGA said. Due to the provocation, the CGA initiated an operation to increase
CHANGING LANDSCAPE: Many of the part-time programs for educators were no longer needed, as many teachers obtain a graduate degree before joining the workforce, experts said Taiwanese universities this year canceled 86 programs, Ministry of Education data showed, with educators attributing the closures to the nation’s low birthrate as well as shifting trends. Fifty-three of the shuttered programs were part-time postgraduate degree programs, about 62 percent of the total, the most in the past five years, the data showed. National Taiwan Normal University (NTNU) discontinued the most part-time master’s programs, at 16: chemistry, life science, earth science, physics, fine arts, music, special education, health promotion and health education, educational psychology and counseling, education, design, Chinese as a second language, library and information sciences, mechatronics engineering, history, physical education
The Chinese military has boosted its capability to fight at a high tempo using the element of surprise and new technology, the Ministry of National Defense said in the Quadrennial Defense Review (QDR) published on Monday last week. The ministry highlighted Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) developments showing significant changes in Beijing’s strategy for war on Taiwan. The PLA has made significant headway in building capabilities for all-weather, multi-domain intelligence, surveillance, operational control and a joint air-sea blockade against Taiwan’s lines of communication, it said. The PLA has also improved its capabilities in direct amphibious assault operations aimed at seizing strategically important beaches,
‘MALIGN PURPOSE’: Governments around the world conduct espionage operations, but China’s is different, as its ultimate goal is annexation, a think tank head said Taiwan is facing a growing existential threat from its own people spying for China, experts said, as the government seeks to toughen measures to stop Beijing’s infiltration efforts and deter Taiwanese turncoats. While Beijing and Taipei have been spying on each other for years, experts said that espionage posed a bigger threat to Taiwan due to the risk of a Chinese attack. Taiwan’s intelligence agency said China used “diverse channels and tactics” to infiltrate the nation’s military, government agencies and pro-China organizations. The main targets were retired and active members of the military, persuaded by money, blackmail or pro-China ideology to steal
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