Taipei, May 1 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian presided over a round table meeting on the fight against severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) Thursday afternoon.
Government and party officials as well as legislative leaders were invited to the Presidential Office to forge a consensus on ways to prevent the potentially deadly flu-like pneumonia.
The president told the participants that since the first SARS case was reported in Taiwan in March, the government has adopted a cautious attitude, believing that "it is better to do more than less" when tackling the situation.
He said that SARS has not only threatened the lives of the public, it has impacted Taiwan's economy and affected its exchanges with other countries. It has also become a test of the trust between the people and their resilience in dealing with the situation.
The president expressed his concern for those patients who are suffering from SARS, and gave his kudos to the medical personnel and volunteers who are caring for probable or suspected SARS patients at hospitals.
Faced with the rapid rise of reported SARS cases recently, the president said the outbreak of the disease is no longer confined to public health, it has influenced national security.
This was the reason he held a national security meeting in the morning, he said, to formulate the policies on implementing quarantines, boosting the morale of society, stabilizing the financial and economic sectors, continuing cross-strait trade exchanges, and cooperating with the international community on combating SARS.
He said that the round table meeting aims on the one hand to listen to briefs by the Executive Yuan and National Security Council on the government's dealing with SARS, and on the other to review the impact of SARS on domestic financial and political aspects and quarantine measures.
He also took the chance to exchange views with party and legislative leaders on whether the government should issue emergency decrees as urged in some media.
Premier Yu Shyi-kun, Legislative Yuan President Wang Jin-pyng, Vice Premier Lin Hsin-i, Taiwan Solidarity Union Chairman Huang Chu-wen, New Party Chairman Yok Mu-ming, Convener of the Alliance of Independent Legislators Walis Pelin, Kuomintang Vice Chairman Lin Cheng-chi, People First Party Vice Chairman Chang Chao-hsiung, ruling Democratic Progressive Party Secretary-General Chang Chun-hsiung, Presidential Office Secretary-General Chiou I-jen, National Security Council Secretary-General Kang Ning-hsiung, Executive Yuan Secretary-General Liu Shih-feng, Mainland Affairs Council Chairwoman Tsai Ing-wen and Department of Health Minister Twu Shiing-jer also took part in the meeting.