Minister of Health and Welfare Chiu Wen-ta (邱文達);
President Su Ching-Chuan (蘇清泉) of the Taiwan Medical Association;
Deputy Secretary-General to the President Hsiung Kuang-hua (熊光華);
Members of the International Federation of Medical Students' Associations;
Distinguished guests, and friends from the media;
Good evening!
I. Foreword
The first time your Federation held its General Assembly in Taiwan was 12 years ago, on July 27th, in the evening at 9:30 p.m. Late one afternoon, the Taipei City Government sponsored a reception at the City Hall Plaza, where medical students from many countries sang and danced together. The host of the reception was the mayor of Taipei. That was me. I am extremely pleased to see your Federation hosting your General Assembly in Taiwan again, and I am honored to be invited to attend your opening ceremony, this time as president of this country. Medical student representatives and international organizations from each of the 108 member countries on six continents around the globe have been invited to attend. On behalf of the government of the Republic of China, I welcome all of you to this year's August Meeting.
II. Medical education and public health policy in the Republic of China
The ROC government places great emphasis on reforming the medical education and training system. In 2013, Taiwan's medical degree program was shortened from seven years to six in order to improve the medical curriculum and the residency training program and to strengthen clinical training after graduation. The implementation of clinical training upon graduation will reinforce new physicians' grasp of community health concepts, instill a stronger sense of compassion, and enable them to communicate better with patients. The training aims to cultivate in new physicians a spirit of humane and social care and the skills needed for holistic health care and independent practice, thereby improving the overall quality of care and ensuring patient safety. Simultaneously, Taiwan's specialist training system has also been reviewed comprehensively to establish a more extensive training model and increase the depth and breadth of residency training in Taiwan.
With regard to our public health policy, in response to an aging population and declining birth rates, Taiwan has actively sought to increase the availability of long-term care. Preventive health care at every stage of life, health promotion campaigns, and health care services are all being utilized to improve health and the quality of life in Taiwan.
III. Success of Taiwan's second-generation national health insurance reform attracts worldwide attention
Taiwan's national health insurance system is one of the best in the world. Since its inception in 1995, we have been able to provide comprehensive universal coverage at affordable premiums utilizing a smart card system. This insurance covers over 99.6% of the population with a near 80% satisfaction rate, and has helped extend average life expectancy from 74.5 years in 1995 to nearly 80 years in 2013. In 2012, medical insurance expenditures accounted for only 6.6% of our GDP, lower than the OECD average. In recent years, the premium rate has been adjusted to make the payments fairer to everyone. Last year, we took the next step and achieved great success with the second-generation national health insurance reform. The result is a system that features "universal coverage, convenience, freedom of choice, reasonable prices, and satisfaction." Indeed, when official delegations come visiting from other countries, our national health insurance system is something they always want to learn about.
IV. Taiwan's participation in international medical assistance and international medical bodies
In addition to what we have been doing at home, we also believe that it is very important for us to share our experiences with the rest of the world. We have dispatched medical missions to our diplomatic allies in Africa, Central America, and the Pacific Islands in order to help them fight parasites, hypertension, diabetes, cataracts, and other diseases. All these programs have yielded very successful results. Let me just give you an example. In the Republic of Nauru in the South Pacific, we have a program called "6-3-0". What does that mean? "Six" means six types of food, such as vegetables, eggs and fruits. "Three" means three years, and "zero" means zero imports. So we set up a public health program there to grow vegetables and fruits, and to raise hens to lay eggs. After three years, theyno longer have to import any of these six items. This is something we have already achieved. I visited Nauru four years ago, and was quite satisfied with the result.
We also established the Taiwan International Health Training Center in 2002 to help other countries train future leaders in the fields of medicine and public health. The center has so far trained 827 health workers from 47 countries. The training programs focus mostly on the concepts of national health insurance, hospital management, traditional medicine, and other areas where our nation has strong suits. Furthermore, in cooperation with 29 countries around the world, our Global Medical Instrument Support and Service (GMISS) program has donated 800,000 pieces of medical equipment to date and provided training to the recipient countries so they can maintain the equipment by themselves. All of the above demonstrates Taiwan's sincere intention to be a serious provider of international humanitarian aid.
At the same time, Taiwan has also achieved a number of accomplishments in the development of medical technology and public health. Through significant international events like this, we hope to show Taiwan to the world and to pave the way for Taiwan to expand its participation in international affairs and its membership in major international organizations such as the World Health Organization. As you might not know, we lost our representation in the United Nations in 1971 under UN General Assembly Resolution 2758.
As a result we have generally not been able to participate in international activities related to the United Nations, although the World Health Assembly has been a notable exception. Taiwan has been invited to send a Cabinet-level official to participate in the WHA as an observer every year since 2009, after a departure of 38 years, and the number of technical meetings where we've presented reports has increased from two in 2009 to 25 in 2014. In the meantime, the number of countries with which we've engaged in bilateral talks has increased from six in 2009 to 58 in 2014. Nevertheless, outside of the WHA, our opportunities to participate in and contribute to the WHO are still extremely limited. But we are always more than willing to share our medical development experiences and expertise with the global community. Therefore, we hope that our good will is noted, and that our meaningful and dignified participation in the WHO can be broadened.
Taiwan has an interesting national weight loss program that attracted quite a lot of attention at last year's WHA. We attracted more than 720,000 people to take part in the program, and they lost a combined total of 1,800 metric tons of excess weight! The success has something to do with me, because I also generously donated 4 kilos of excess weight.
VI. Conclusion
In closing, I hope that all our participants from around the world will go forth from this conference and continue to provide patient-centered care that meets the highest professional and ethical standards. And I do hope that, besides participating in the event, you will be able to squeeze some time out of your busy schedule to visit the famous National Palace Museum, where you can see art treasures collected by Chinese emperors over the last 35 centuries. You should also visit one of Taipei's many night markets. You can find all sorts of delicious things to eat there, and some of the items might strike you as rather exotic. And last but not least, you should do as much shopping as possible so as to help us revitalize our economy.
Enjoy the rest of your stay. Thank you.