The International Medical Informatics Association (IMIA) last month expelled the China Medical Informatics Association (CMIA) and named Taiwanese representative Jack Li (李友專) as its next president.
Li pledged to share Taiwan’s quality informatics with the world.
At an assembly in Lyon, France, a proposal put forward by IMIA president Christoph Lehmann to expel the CMIA from its list of members passed with 28 approvals, one disapproval and 10 abnegations, the China-based Global Times reported on Wednesday.
Photo courtesy of Li Yu-chuan via CNA
Lehmann then named Li as the next IMIA president from 2021 to 2023 and dismissed the CMIA’s protests, saying that the decision was made in accordance with the association’s codes, the report said.
Li yesterday confirmed the report, saying that the IMIA has 61 members across Asia, North America, Europe and the Middle East.
The organization focuses on how to apply informatics in medicine, which includes electronic medical records, decisionmaking systems supported by artificial intelligence (AI) and image-recognition systems, Li said.
Recognized as an expert on AI applications in medicine, Li is a member of the Taiwan Association for Medical Informatics and dean of Taipei Medical University’s College of Medical Science and Technology.
Thanks to the National Health Insurance system, the nation long ago transitioned to electronic medical records and has accumulated a large amount of quality medical data, Li said, adding that Taiwanese have been sharing such achievements with the rest of the world at the IMIA.
Due to pressure from Beijing, Taiwanese could only participate in the association’s events as academic members, but since 2000 they have been striving to make the nation a full member, he said.
To make Taiwan’s membership possible, the IMIA in 2007 decided to admit agencies instead of states, which empowered Taiwanese representatives to compete for the position of president, Li said.
While he had been nominated for the post many times, China had never ceased in its attempts to block him by uniting with its allies, Li said, adding that he had never thought that he would be able to obtain the position.
China was expelled from the association last month for a series of improprieties, such as changing the venue of an assembly four times when it was host in 2017 and failing to pay its fees, Li said.
Without China’s obstruction, his nomination had passed smoothly, he said, expressing excitement about the opportunity to make more contributions to Taiwan and the rest of the world.
The IMIA is an independent non-governmental organization established under Swiss law in 1989 and has close ties with the WHO, according to its Web site.
The IMIA is affiliated with the WHO, but is not directly related to the UN, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
ANNOUNCEMENT: People who do not comply with the ban after a spoken warning would be reported to the police, the airport company said on Friday Taoyuan International Airport Corp on Friday announced that riding on vehicles, including scooter-suitcases (also known as “scootcases”), bicycles, scooters and skateboards, is prohibited in the airport’s terminals. Those using such vehicles should manually pull them or place them on luggage trolleys, the company said in a Facebook post. The ban intends to maintain order and protect travelers’ safety, as the airport often sees large crowds of people, it said, adding that it has stepped up publicity for the regulation, and those who do not comply after a spoken warning would be reported to the police. The company yesterday said that
QUIET START: Nearly a week after applications opened, agencies did not announce or promote the program, nor did they explain how it differed from other visitor visas Taiwan has launched a six-month “digital nomad visitor visa” program for foreign nationals from its list of visa-exempt countries who meet financial eligibility criteria and provide proof of work contracts. To apply, foreign nationals must either provide proof that they have obtained a digital nomad visa issued by another country or demonstrate earnings based on age brackets, the Bureau of Consular Affairs said. Applicants aged 20 to 29 must show they earned an annual salary of at least US$20,000 or its equivalent in one of the past two years, while those aged 30 or older must provide proof they earned US$40,000 in
UNITY MESSAGE: Rather than focusing on what Trump said on the campaign trail about Taiwan, Taipei should be willing to engage with the US, Pompeo said Taiwan plays a key role in Washington’s model of deterrence against China, former US secretary of state Mike Pompeo said in a speech in Taipei yesterday. During US president-elect Donald Trump’s first term, “we had developed what we believe was a pretty effective model of deterrence against adversaries who wanted to undermine the set of rules and values that the people of Taiwan and the people of the US hold dear,” Pompeo said at a forum organized by the Formosa Republican Association. “Succeeding in continuing to build this model will not solely rest at the feet of president Trump and his team,
SERIOUS ALLEGATIONS: The suspects formed spy networks and paramilitary groups to kill government officials during a possible Chinese invasion, prosecutors said Prosecutors have indicted seven retired military officers, members of the Rehabilitation Alliance Party, for allegedly obtaining funds from China, and forming paramilitary groups and assassination squads in Taiwan to collaborate with Chinese troops in a possible war. The suspects contravened the National Security Act (國家安全法) by taking photos and drawing maps of key radar stations, missile installations and the American Institute in Taiwan’s headquarters in Taipei, prosecutors said. They allegedly prepared to collaborate with China during a possible invasion of Taiwan, prosecutors said. Retired military officer Chu Hung-i (屈宏義), 62, a Republic of China Army Academy graduate, went to China
RSS