The appearance of three cases in Taiwan of an acute form of pneumonia has implicitly exposed the country's isolation from the WHO.
When the three cases of what the WHO is calling "severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)" were reported last week, Twu Shiing-jer (
In the WHO's updated report about the SARS outbreak on Sunday, the organization called the disease "an atypical pneumonia of unknown etiology."
Taiwan's first two cases were reported to the Center for Disease Control (CDC) last Friday. The center reported the two cases to the WHO that day, it said.
The center also immediately reported the third case to the WHO after it was discovered on Saturday, it said.
The WHO issued an emergency travel warning regarding the disease on Sunday and an updated report on the outbreak yesterday.
However, when the WHO listed the countries from where it had received reports of SARS cases in its statements, Taiwan was conspicuously absent from the list.
Nevertheless, the center said it had done its best to keep the WHO up to date on the conditions of Taiwan's SARS cases.
Twu said that during his US visit he appealed for the WHO's help in investigating Taiwan's cases.
"The WHO is coordinating the international investigation of this outbreak and is working closely with health authorities in the affected countries to provide epidemiological, clinical and logistical support as required," the WHO's statement on Sunday said.
Although so far the organization has offered Taiwan no direct assistance, two officials from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (USCDC) arrived at Taiwan on Sunday to join the investigation of the cause of the three cases.
On Sunday, Twu expressed disappointment that the WHO did not want to work with Taiwan.
But Chen Tsai-ching (陳再晉), director-general of Taiwan's CDC, said yesterday that the country needed to consider the WHO's dilemma in dealing with such diseases in a non-member state such as Taiwan.
"As long as the WHO has suggested the USCDC send officials to help us, we are very grateful," Chen said.
Hsieh Szu-min (謝思民), an infectious disease specialist from National Taiwan University Hospital, where the first two cases are in quarantine, said the WHO's help would be useful in determining how the two caught the disease.
"As SARS cases have been reported in many countries, transnational cooperation coordinated by the WHO would be more efficient to investigate the cause," Hsieh said.
But Hsieh said he expected a lot from the USCDC officials in examining the cases because "the center is very experienced in investigating unknown agents and viruses."
Hsieh said that over the past few decades, the center had accumulated considerable experience in studying outbreaks and their causes.
DPP lawmaker Lai Ching-te (
"As Taiwan is not a WHO member, it can't join other countries' investigation of SARS cases. It can't obtain first-hand information about the disease from the WHO, either," Lai said.
Taiwan cannot know how many SARS cases there are in other countries immediately, nor can it find out in which areas in the countries these cases were found, Lai said.
"We can't quickly know how these countries treat these cases. We don't know what health policies these countries adopt to contain the spread of the disease," Lai added.
Also See Stories:
Editorial: The Chinese virus invasion
Taiwanese steer clear of Hong Kong
MORE VISITORS: The Tourism Administration said that it is seeing positive prospects in its efforts to expand the tourism market in North America and Europe Taiwan has been ranked as the cheapest place in the world to travel to this year, based on a list recommended by NerdWallet. The San Francisco-based personal finance company said that Taiwan topped the list of 16 nations it chose for budget travelers because US tourists do not need visas and travelers can easily have a good meal for less than US$10. A bus ride in Taipei costs just under US$0.50, while subway rides start at US$0.60, the firm said, adding that public transportation in Taiwan is easy to navigate. The firm also called Taiwan a “food lover’s paradise,” citing inexpensive breakfast stalls
US PUBLICATION: The results indicated a change in attitude after a 2023 survey showed 55 percent supported full-scale war to achieve unification, the report said More than half of Chinese were against the use of force to unify with Taiwan under any circumstances, a survey conducted by the Atlanta, Georgia-based Carter Center and Emory University found. The survey results, which were released on Wednesday in a report titled “Sovereignty, Security, & US-China Relations: Chinese Public Opinion,” showed that 55.1 percent of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that “the Taiwan problem should not be resolved using force under any circumstances,” while 24.5 percent “strongly” or “somewhat” disagreed with the statement. The results indicated a change in attitude after a survey published in “Assessing Public Support for (Non)Peaceful Unification
The CIA has a message for Chinese government officials worried about their place in Chinese President Xi Jinping’s (習近平) government: Come work with us. The agency released two Mandarin-language videos on social media on Thursday inviting disgruntled officials to contact the CIA. The recruitment videos posted on YouTube and X racked up more than 5 million views combined in their first day. The outreach comes as CIA Director John Ratcliffe has vowed to boost the agency’s use of intelligence from human sources and its focus on China, which has recently targeted US officials with its own espionage operations. The videos are “aimed at
Four former Hong Kong opposition lawmakers jailed in the territory’s largest national security case were released yesterday after more than four years in prison, the first among dozens convicted last year to regain their freedom. Former legislators Claudia Mo (毛孟靜), Jeremy Tam (譚文豪), Kwok Ka-ki (郭家麒) and Gary Fan (范國威) were part of a group of 47 public figures — including some of Hong Kong’s best-known democracy advocates — who were charged with subversion in 2021 for holding an informal primary election. The case fell under a National Security Law imposed on the territory by Beijng, and drew international condemnation and warnings