The government has, for the first time in Taiwan's history of disease control, sealed off a hospital for collective medical treatment and quarantine, all because of an outbreak of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS). Thereafter, spread of the disease rapidly hit new heights in Taiwan.
Some members of the general public responded with irrational protests out of ignorance and panic. For example, some residents of Yuanchang township in Yunlin County protested against the shipment of waste from the quarantined hospital, Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, to Yuanchang incinerators. At the same time, Hsinchu Mayor Lin Junq-tzer (
While the underlying reasons for such action is understandable, they should not be allowed to escape legal consequences and moral condemnation.
Taiwan is a community upon which the lives of more than 23 million people are interconnected. Inhabitants of the nation are one community facing a common destiny. Once any natural or man-made disasters takes place, no one can stay out of it. Therefore, people should learn to help and appreciate one another. No one should think only of him or herself and refuse to extend a helping hand as needed.
Otherwise, if everyone simply sealed off his or her home, town, or city and turn it into a fortress, what kind of country would Taiwan become? No wonder Premier Yu Shyi-kun said to local government heads at a conference on disease control that people should rediscover "Taiwanese values" and help themselves by first helping others. People must cross party lines and regional boundaries to fight the contagion.
Premier Yu said that "after this is all over, [we] don't want to look back at [conduct of] Taiwanese during this period of time and wonder what happened to humanity? Don't let Taiwan lose faith in human nature and don't give the international community a reason to deride Taiwan."
To everyone in the country, the invasion of the epidemic has been a dreadful disaster. So far, the international medical community has not yet developed a vaccine. All one can do is to rely on the accumulation of experience to treat the infected. Frankly speaking, this type of medical treatment depends too much on dumb luck.
Fortunately, the mortality rate for the disease, even is the countries with the highest mortality rate, is no higher than 10 percent. On average, the figure is around 4 percent to 5 percent. Therefore, there is no need for the general public to panic, thinking that there is no cure and that the only recourse for an infected person is to sit and wait for death. Otherwise, there will be more tragedies like the suicide of one patient at the Hoping Hospital.
In any event, the disease has devastated Taiwan. Not only has the general public been plagued with hysteria but social order could is in danger of collapsing. Some industries, such as the tourism industry, aviation industry, restaurant industry and leisure and entertainment industry, have endured severe clashes. Moreover, the stock market has experienced severe declines, depreciating stock values by about NT$1 trillion within just days. The economic clashes are no less severe than those inflicted by the 921 earthquake.
After the 921 earthquake, although the nation had suffered from a high number of injuries and deaths, the entire country became mobilized on its own initiative and people devoted themselves to the post-quake relief works. Those with money offered money, while those with muscle offered a helping hand. People from different parties, regions and ethnic groups cast aside their differences and worked together, doing what they could for their fellow countrymen.
So, at the time, people were in pain, they did not feel hopeless. They may have been lacking in terms of material goods, but they were surely affluent spiritually. Surprisingly, this "Taiwan spirit" was no where to be found after the outbreak at Hoping Hospital.
Some members of the media, who take pride in being able to offer scoops, wrote exaggerated, sensational and unverified reports, creating public unrest. Before truly becoming helpless in the eyes of the world, Taiwan had already become chaotic, further creating an impression of being out of control.
Immediately after the Hoping Hospital scare, President Chen Shui-bian (
Trying to control an epidemic is no different from fighting a battle. The protests by the small minority of Hoping medical personnel during the early phase of the shut down of the hospital was probably caused by momentary emotions running high and out of control. One doesn't have the heart to be too harsh on them. But, no such understanding should be given when a local government head deliberately and knowingly has broken the law, by leading people to obstruct the transfer of SARS patients.
Still some politicians tried to politicize the incident, accusing the central government of transferring Hoping patients to only counties and cities with pan-blue local-government heads. Such immoral accusations have no credibility in the eyes of the people. There should be no distinction and no line drawn between local and central governments in the disease prevention efforts. Nor can there be any division along party lines.
In addition, the performance of a small number of media has been less than praiseworthy. The impact of the epidemic has been both physical and psychological. At a time when the people are trapped in fear instigated by ignorance, the media must make accurate reporting based on their role as the Fourth Estate.
However, some media have given disproportional weight to reporting negative events to the point of printing whatever they hear on the streets. They eagerly pass on whatever rumors they may hear to the viewers or readers without responsible investigation into the matter, using catchy and sensational headlines to attract public attention.
Such behavior has obviously intensified the emotions of the people. Because of such media chaos, the law on prevention and control of the disease, which was enacted yesterday, mandates that erroneous and unsubstantiated media reporting must be immediately corrected upon notification by the relevant government agencies. The media should not oppose this mandate on the ground of press freedom. In fact, they should sincerely scrutinize professional performances and social responsibility, so that their reports will have a calming effect on the population in the face of a new epidemic.
This contagion may be scary. But, what is more worrisome are politicians seizing the opportunity to attract attention, obstructing the efforts of the people responsible for controlling the epidemic. A small number of local government leaders have blatantly violated the law. Prosecutors should take the initiative and investigate.
The ruling and opposition parties should think from the standpoint of the general public and not cover their own. They must discipline their members to cooperate with disease-control efforts.
In addition, at a time when the government is trying very hard to mend holes in the disease-control net, it must demonstrate the determination to cease cross-strait exchanges. After all, only keeping out problems at their roots can fully stop further spread of the epidemic. Otherwise, with several thousand individuals coming from the most seriously infected country, no matter how hard people here may work, it would be impossible to stop the spread of the epidemic.
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