Many vividly remember Department of Health (DOH) Minister Yeh Ching-chuan’s (葉金川) emotional “I love Taiwan” outburst after he was heckled by overseas Taiwanese students in Geneva in May over the nation’s dubious status at the World Health Assembly.
“Think about it, everyone. Who was it then [during the SARS outbreak in 2003] that risked his life to protect the people in Taiwan? Who could love Taiwan more if that isn’t perceived as an act of love for Taiwan?” a tearful Yeh told a press conference at the time, alluding to the shining “anti-SARS hero” name plate bestowed upon him by then-Taipei mayor Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) in 2003 following the SARS outbreak.
A mere three months later, however, it is ironic that someone who has publicly proclaimed his love for Taiwan and claimed to protect Taiwan with his life would so quickly drop his armor and shirk his responsibilities as the nation faces the threat of a surging (A)H1N1 pandemic.
In addition to increasing reports of severe swine flu cases, instances of cluster infections have also been confirmed by the Centers for Disease Control. Despite the Department of Health’s promise that locally produced swine flu vaccines would be ready by November at the earliest, the rushed manner in which the vaccine research has been conducted and the way clinical trials have been scheduled after mass production begins have some health experts expressing concern over the vaccines’ safety and ability to combat the (A)H1N1 influenza.
Some local media reported that Yeh’s determination to resign from his post as DOH minister and run in the year-end Hualien County commissioner election is merely because he is complying with Ma’s agenda as incoming Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) chairman. Even if that were the case, Yeh cannot be excused from his share of responsibility. He is still responsible for his choice to yield to Ma’s game of prioritizing a party’s electoral interests over the nation’s epidemic threat.
In an attempt to justify the timing of his departure, Yeh said on Monday that a nation’s epidemic prevention depends not on one individual but teamwork and established mechanisms. Granted, Yeh’s remarks hold validity, but any official with a conscience can also see that when things get tough, that is the time to demonstrate responsibility and stability. These are what are needed now as the nation braces for an (A)H1N1 epidemic. In effect, Yeh appears to be saying his leadership is not needed.
For Yeh, however, it seems that issues pertaining to Taiwan’s public health can be disregarded when there’s a chance to jump on another wagon and further his political career.
He has talked so much about loving Taiwan with his life, but the truth appears to be that Yeh is no greater than someone who puts himself first.
Yeh might still regard himself as an “anti-SARS hero,” but to the general public, the impression that will now be etched in the minds of many will be how Yeh set a ghastly example of treating a crucial government post as a springboard for his own career at the worst possible time.
US aerospace company Boeing Co has in recent years been involved in numerous safety incidents, including crashes of its 737 Max airliners, which have caused widespread concern about the company’s safety record. It has recently come to light that titanium jet engine parts used by Boeing and its European competitor Airbus SE were sold with falsified documentation. The source of the titanium used in these parts has been traced back to an unknown Chinese company. It is clear that China is trying to sneak questionable titanium materials into the supply chain and use any ensuing problems as an opportunity to
It’s not every month that the US Department of State sends two deputy assistant secretary-level officials to Taiwan, together. Its rarer still that such senior State Department policy officers, once on the ground in Taipei, make a point of huddling with fellow diplomats from “like-minded” NATO, ANZUS and Japanese governments to coordinate their multilateral Taiwan policies. The State Department issued a press release on June 22 admitting that the two American “representatives” had “hosted consultations in Taipei” with their counterparts from the “Taiwan Ministry of Foreign Affairs.” The consultations were blandly dubbed the “US-Taiwan Working Group on International Organizations.” The State
The Chinese Supreme People’s Court and other government agencies released new legal guidelines criminalizing “Taiwan independence diehard separatists.” While mostly symbolic — the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has never had jurisdiction over Taiwan — Tamkang University Graduate Institute of China Studies associate professor Chang Wu-ueh (張五岳), an expert on cross-strait relations, said: “They aim to explain domestically how they are countering ‘Taiwan independence,’ they aim to declare internationally their claimed jurisdiction over Taiwan and they aim to deter Taiwanese.” Analysts do not know for sure why Beijing is propagating these guidelines now. Under Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), deciphering the
Many local news media last week reported that COVID-19 is back, citing doctors’ observations and the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) statistics. The CDC said that cases would peak this month and urged people to take preventive measures. Although COVID-19 has never been eliminated, it has become more manageable, and restrictions were dropped, enabling people to return to their normal way of life due to decreasing hospitalizations and deaths. In Taiwan, mandatory reporting of confirmed cases and home isolation ended in March last year, while the mask mandate at hospitals and healthcare facilities stopped in May. However, the CDC last week said the number