Taipei, April 19 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian on Saturday criticized mainland China's mishandling of the outbreak of sever acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and pleaded for Taiwan's bid to join the World Health Organization (WHO). "If it weren't for Beijing mounting a cover up early on, the SARS virus would not have spread so fast to neighboring countries and to the rest of the world," Chen said in a pre-recorded weekly television chat.
Mainland China has been accused of failing to report quickly and fully on the SARS outbreak in its southern Guangdong province, where the potentially deadly new disease is believed to have originated.
In his television chat, Chen also pleaded for the WHO to consider accepting Taiwan as a member. "Not one country, not one area can be kept out of the global epidemic control network," Chen said.