May 3, 2003

"China Obstruct Access SARS and Taiwan's Participation in WHO"

After months of cover up, China finally admitted the mishandling of the severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) epidemic. Unfortunately, damages have been done, in the livelihood and economy, to many countries.

One of the victims is Taiwan, my old country, which has recorded dozens of cases of SARS. Doctors in Taiwan have no direct access to the World Health
Organization's medical resources and receive no direct help against the epidemic, as she is not a member of WHO--- a sad reality resulted from China's unjustifiable objections. For the past six years, China has bluntly killed any initiative by Taiwan's allies in support of Taiwan's observer status in the
WHO, an annual campaign overwhelmingly supported by the US Congress as well.

China must learn how to behave responsibly in global public health. The rest of the world should promote global cooperation to protect public health and press China to behave rationally, including dropping its unjustifiable objection to Taiwan's Participation in WHO.

Shyu-tu Lee
Vancouver
360-254-7238