China is experiencing a public health crisis. Infectious diseases that were almost eradicated during the 1960s have reappeared. Beijing acknowledges that diseases like tuberculosis, viral hepatitis, gonorrhea, measles, schistosomiasis and bacillary and amoebic dysentery are reappearing. Making matters worse, new diseases are surfacing. HIV/AIDS has decimated entire villages. In 2003, the SARS epidemic, a disease that had been festering in China since 2002, was unleashed on the world. More recently, the country has been plagued by a particularly virulent strain of avian influenza (bird flu).
The public health care system in China has collapsed. A recent report by the WHO revealed that the country's health system now ranks 144th in the global body, behind Indonesia and Bangladesh. Only 15 percent of the Chinese population is covered by health insurance and even poverty-stricken Vietnam boasts a higher rate of routine childhood immunizations.
Unsurprisingly, China is widely considered to be a major launching pad for infectious diseases.
Beijing is acting to contain the spread of the deadly bird flu virus and taking steps to prevent a global pandemic. It is also making some moves to reform its health care system. These measures deserve praise. Often overlooked, however, is the fact that China is the source of another disease.
China has long suffered from a malady some describe as a "Taiwan complex." Symptoms include an irrational, even schizophrenic, approach to relations with Taiwan. The afflicted embrace the anachronistic "one country, two systems" unification formula, despite the fact that opinion polls in Taiwan reveal that few support it.
They also threaten Taiwan with missiles deployed directly opposite the island -- 784 according to the latest count -- but appear bewildered when polls show that the Taiwanese believe the regime in Beijing is unfriendly toward them. Perhaps most insidious, however, is the tendency of those who suffer from a "Taiwan complex" to consciously spread the problem overseas, thereby threatening the health and safety of the entire global community.
For almost a decade, Taiwan has sought to return to the world's leading health body -- the WHO. In an effort not to rile Beijing, Taipei applies on an annual basis for admission as a "health entity" with "observer" status only. The International Committee of the Red Cross, Rotary International and the Vatican all enjoy observer status. Nevertheless, China has stubbornly blocked Taiwan's admission to the international health body for ten years. Taiwan's continued exclusion from the WHO represents a dangerous "loophole" in global efforts aimed at disease prevention.
After all, Taiwan is a major transportation hub and any virus originating in China could spread to Taiwan and onward to Japan or the US in less than 24 hours. Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO also deprives the developing world of Taiwan's priceless medical assistance and expertise. Perhaps most perplexing, Beijing's intransigence reinforces the Taiwanese public's negative images of China.
The WHO episode shows that this "Taiwan complex" could affect the health and welfare of the international community. But the US Department of State recently revealed that it also jeopardizes the war on terrorism.
In its annual report on terrorist activities, the department declared that China's opposition to Taiwan's participation in international organizations has "impeded broader cooperation on Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) counter-terrorism and nonproliferation initiatives."
The report also noted that China refuses to join the Financial Action Task Force, an international coalition that combats money laundering by terrorists, because Taiwan remains a member of the group. In other words, China's "Taiwan complex" represents a threat to international security.
Some fear that the US administration's recent refusal to allow President Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁 to make transit stops in San Francisco and New York indicates that the highest echelons of the US government have succumbed to the "Taiwan complex." One hopes this isn't the case.
As the leader of a full-fledged democracy, any Taiwanese president deserves a modicum of respect. Rather than humiliate Taiwan, the US should ramp up support for the island's participation in the WHO and the global campaign against terrorism. Also, the administration of US President George W. Bush should comply with long-standing policy and convince China to seek a cure for its "Taiwan complex." Beijing must look at its relationship with Taipei in a more creative way.
Small but meaningful gestures -- such as acquiescing to Taiwan's participation in the WHO -- could pave the way for other constructive steps and lead eventually to some sort of reconciliation between the two sides.
Dennis Hickey is professor of political science at Missouri State University.
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