Help Taiwan Fight SARS 
WASHINGTON POST OPINION PAGE
By Chen Shui-bian

Friday, May 9, 2003; Page A35 

The outbreak and spread of severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, has 
brought illness, death and economic peril to Asia and the rest of the world. It 
has also drawn attention to Taiwan's exclusion from the World Health 
Organization. If there was ever a time for my country to be allowed to 
join the WHO, it is now.


As Taiwan's democratically elected president, my first and foremost obligation 
is to the people of Taiwan. When SARS first appeared in Taiwan in March, our 
health system responded quickly and effectively. As a result, Taiwan initially 
achieved a record of zero mortality, zero community transmission and the
transmission abroad of SARS. But despite our efforts, another outbreak occurred 
in late April. We have taken strict measures in response, and are working day 
and night to contain the disease.


Throughout this health crisis, my government has acted in the best interest of 
our people and of foreign nationals living in and visiting Taiwan. At no time 
has my administration suppressed information about the disease. Our press has 
reported freely on SARS. More important, our officials know that they are 
accountable to the people, both morally and at the ballot box. Whatever 
problems arise for Taiwan, we will solve them according to the highest 
standards of medicine, government accountability and human compassion.


I also have an obligation to the world. Taiwan is a nation of 23 million people 
and a major trading partner for many countries. What happens in Taiwan affects 
many millions more around the world. For that reason, Taiwan immediately 
offered to work with the WHO in combating SARS. Unfortunately, we were 
rebuffed. However, in response to the most recent rise in the number of cases, 
and for the first time in decades, two experts from the WHO arrived in Taiwan 
last week. I welcome this assistance and have directed my government and called 
on my people to cooperate fully with them.


The WHO's decision to send these experts to Taiwan has great significance. It 
demonstrates that Taiwan is indispensable to international public health. But 
it also suggests that cooperation between the WHO and Taiwan should not be left 
to ad hoc arrangements.


Despite my country's advanced health system, staffed by doctors and nurses 
educated in highly respected institutions at home and abroad, and despite a 
strong desire to participate in the WHO, Taiwan is denied membership or even 
observer status in the organization. As a consequence, our epidemiologists are 
still unable to gain prompt access to information, such as samples of the 
virus, that could help our scientists learn about the disease and treat 
patients. 

Nevertheless, we have tried to provide information to international 
organizations to ensure that Taiwan can make the maximum contribution to 
solving this health problem.


The effort to understand and control SARS continues. Viral experts seek answers 
to important questions. Doctors and health professionals on the front line of 
the battle against SARS need as much information as possible to be able to deal 
with the disease. Moreover, like the WHO, international health officials need 
as much data as possible about SARS and the way it behaves in different 
environments and among different populations.


Taiwan, with a population larger than those of three-quarters of the countries 
of the world, is a piece of a global puzzle that experts need to understand to 
cope with the virus. Taiwan has long wanted not only to benefit from the WHO's 
expertise but also to share the responsibility that all countries have to 
global public health. Many health care professionals around the world have 
expressed their support for Taiwan's admission to the WHO as an observer. We 
are grateful.


We hope that at the WHO meeting on May 19, this important organization will 
invite Taiwan to be an observer. Taiwan's people should not be excluded from 
efforts to defeat SARS. Nor should the rest of the world be denied the 
important contribution Taiwan can and wants to make to global health.


The writer is president of the Republic of China (Taiwan).