President Ma Ying-jeou on the morning of November 3 attended the opening of the 2008 Global Forum for Health Leaders. The president, on behalf of the government and people of the ROC (Taiwan), extended a warm welcome to the representatives from other countries.
The theme of the forum, being held in Taipei, is Health and Globalization: Challenges and Opportunities. President Ma expressed his desire for those participating in the forum to offer their experiences and expertise in an effort to improve the quality of life for humankind. The president also extended his appreciation to the participants for their hard work.
President Ma noted that the focus topics for the forum are "Evidence Based Health Policy," "Global Trend of Healthcare Quality," and "Capacity-Building for Disease Control." He said these topics all encompass initiatives advocated by the World Health Organization (WHO). Globalization has brought new challenges to health and security for humankind. For instance, he said, five years ago, during the outbreak of SARS, some people commented that while it took two years for AIDS to spread throughout the globe, the outbreak of SARS was seen throughout the world in just two weeks. Meanwhile, the recent incident involving the discovery of melamine in milk powder further highlights the need for close cooperation in the international community.
President Ma said that political factors have prevented Taiwan from participating in the WHO for 36 years. The people of Taiwan, government officials and non-governmental organizations continue to make efforts to improve the quality of health care in Taiwan, he said. The president commented that a number of health care policies instituted in Taiwan, such as the national health insurance plan, improvements in the quality of medical treatment education and health care accreditation, and measures to control infectious diseases, have proven extremely successful. If Taiwan will be able to participate in the WHO, it can surely provide more services and make greater contributions to the Asia-Pacific region and the international community, he said.
President Ma said that disease knows no borders and transcends politics. Compassion and humanitarianism, meanwhile, transcend language and race. That Taiwan is not able to participate in the WHO is not only a political issue, but also an issue of human rights, he said.
At the end of his remarks, President Ma invited the delegates attending the forum to take some time out of the meetings to get a better feel for Taiwan's rich culture. He encouraged them to spend a little bit extra during their stay in Taiwan to help boost consumption and spark Taiwan's economy.