Despite all the efforts to stop its spread, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) may be entering a phase of community transmission in this country. Dr. Lee Ming-liang (
When the first reported SARS cases appeared in early March, all could be linked to travel in China and Hong Kong. The second wave of transmissions came late last month, when mass infections were discovered at Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital and Jen-chi Hospital. Hoping Hospital's 14-day quarantine period ended Thursday. Some suspected SARS cases that cannot be traced back to the two hospitals continue to emerge. This indicates loopholes in the nation's epidemic-control network.
Taiwan must now prepare for a possible third wave of community transmission. It is better to err on the side of caution than to be overly optimistic as was the case last month.
The next round in the anti-SARS campaign will be very different from the quarantine measures slapped on Hoping and Jen-chi hospitals, where health-care workers were on the front lines of the battle to halt the spread of the virus. In the fight against community transmission, the frontlines can be anywhere -- public venues, offices, factories, even our homes. Everyone needs to work together to maintain those lines regardless of where they live, where they work, or which political party they support. A tiny lapse in vigilance could lead to mass infections such as those that occurred in Hong Kong's Amoy Gardens apartment complex.
President Chen Shui-bian (
Still, support from the military and police is not a decisive factor in this campaign. The most crucial task is to educate the public and to mobilize community and volunteer forces. To limit panic and prepare the public for possible community quarantine measures, the government should publicize information on community-level epidemic control work. The public should also be educated about personal hygiene -- regular epidemic bulletins should be published and regular disinfection rounds should be adopted.
To help ease public anxiety and inconvenience, medical institutions should also make full use of new test kits to shorten the time it takes to determine whether someone has SARS. The health-care network should also maintain its mobility and flexibility in order to tackle contingencies.
This is a fight that no one can avoid. Only united action can ensure victory.
Two weeks ago, Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh (楊紫瓊) raised hackles in Taiwan by posting to her 2.6 million Instagram followers that she was visiting “Taipei, China.” Yeoh’s post continues a long-standing trend of Chinese propaganda that spreads disinformation about Taiwan’s political status and geography, aimed at deceiving the world into supporting its illegitimate claims to Taiwan, which is not and has never been part of China. Taiwan must respond to this blatant act of cognitive warfare. Failure to respond merely cedes ground to China to continue its efforts to conquer Taiwan in the global consciousness to justify an invasion. Taiwan’s government
This month’s news that Taiwan ranks as Asia’s happiest place according to this year’s World Happiness Report deserves both celebration and reflection. Moving up from 31st to 27th globally and surpassing Singapore as Asia’s happiness leader is gratifying, but the true significance lies deeper than these statistics. As a society at the crossroads of Eastern tradition and Western influence, Taiwan embodies a distinctive approach to happiness worth examining more closely. The report highlights Taiwan’s exceptional habit of sharing meals — 10.1 shared meals out of 14 weekly opportunities, ranking eighth globally. This practice is not merely about food, but represents something more
In an article published on this page on Tuesday, Kaohsiung-based journalist Julien Oeuillet wrote that “legions of people worldwide would care if a disaster occurred in South Korea or Japan, but the same people would not bat an eyelid if Taiwan disappeared.” That is quite a statement. We are constantly reading about the importance of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC), hailed in Taiwan as the nation’s “silicon shield” protecting it from hostile foreign forces such as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), and so crucial to the global supply chain for semiconductors that its loss would cost the global economy US$1
Concerns that the US might abandon Taiwan are often overstated. While US President Donald Trump’s handling of Ukraine raised unease in Taiwan, it is crucial to recognize that Taiwan is not Ukraine. Under Trump, the US views Ukraine largely as a European problem, whereas the Indo-Pacific region remains its primary geopolitical focus. Taipei holds immense strategic value for Washington and is unlikely to be treated as a bargaining chip in US-China relations. Trump’s vision of “making America great again” would be directly undermined by any move to abandon Taiwan. Despite the rhetoric of “America First,” the Trump administration understands the necessity of
RSS