President Ma Ying-jeou presided over a high-level meeting at the Presidential Office on the morning of April 29 to discuss Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly (WHA) as well as measures being taken by the government against the outbreak of the new H1N1 strain of influenza.
The president said that the primary objective in calling the meeting was to discuss matters concerning the nation's participation in the WHA. Prior to discussions on this matter, however, the president first said he wanted to make a statement regarding the outbreak of the H1N1 flu. President Ma noted that the World Health Organization (WHO) early in the morning of April 28 raised its global pandemic alert level from Phase 3 to Phase 4. The Executive Yuan, he said, immediately thereafter at 7 a.m. on the morning of April 28 established a central epidemic command center, which is being headed up by Minister of Health Yeh Ching-chuan. The center held its first meeting at 9 a.m. The president said the response by the Executive Yuan to the developments has been quite speedy and forthright.
President Ma said that the outbreak of the H1N1 flu is without a doubt unsettling. However, the whole world, including Taiwan, six years ago gained valuable experience in the course of handling the outbreak of SARS, and things this time are not as frightening as they were then. This time, Taiwan has ample supplies of face masks and antiviral medicines. Even more important, Taiwan has considerable knowledge and experience in dealing with such an outbreak, he said. President Ma praised Minister Yeh as a hero in the fight against SARS. During the outbreak of SARS, he not only displayed a high degree of expertise, but also superior judgment, which was obvious to everyone here. President Ma said that everyone can be free from anxiety with Minister Yeh at the helm. The president said that he is in close contact with Minister Yeh each day to understand the latest developments. The government will stand with the public, he said, and lead the people safely through this difficult period.
President Ma said that everyone in attendance at the meeting today is well aware that Taiwan lost its seat in the United Nations in 1971 and since then has been unable to participate in UN-affiliated activities. We have consistently sought to participate in specialized UN organizations associated with people's well-being, with the most important of these being the WHO, he said. Since 1997, Taiwan has for 12 years sought to have a presence in the WHO, but has not been successful in these efforts. Since taking office on May 20 last year, the president said his administration has spared no effort in this regard, and now Taiwan finally has an opportunity to take part in WHA activities in May of this year.
The government last May established a WHA task force chaired by National Security Council Secretary-General Su Chi. Also on the task force are the Department of Health, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Mainland Affairs Council. Their efforts have finally yielded results, the president said, enabling Taiwan to participate in the WHA. President Ma cited three key reasons for this success: First, the efforts of all sectors on Taiwan, regardless of political affiliation; second, the goodwill of mainland China, indications of which were seen in remarks made by Mr. Hu Jintao at the end of last year; and third, the strong support from the international community, including the United States, Japan, the European Union, Southeast Asia, New Zealand & Australia, and countries with which the ROC (Taiwan) maintains and does not maintain diplomatic relations, all of whom believe that we should have the opportunity to take part. Participation in WHO activities is not purely a political issue, the president said, but more importantly concerns the issue of human rights. The right to health for the 23 million people of Taiwan cannot be neglected, President Ma said.
President Ma said that we must extend our appreciation to persons from the Department of Health, Taiwan's medical community and those involved in public health for their long-term efforts. He added that he is delighted by the results achieved by the task force that has been chaired by Secretary-General Su.
In addition, the president said the positive result is also related to the dynamic efforts by the new administration to improve cross-strait relations and promote flexible diplomacy. In addition to yielding stronger relations between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, this work has helped to build mutual trust at the highest levels between Taiwan and its friends and allies.
Over this period, various specious reports and criticism by certain circles have appeared, some of which have sought to smear the efforts of the government in carrying out its policy to gain participation in the WHA, the president said. This commentary has now been shown to have distorted the facts. The government over these months has adopted an extremely low-key approach in an effort to avoid creating any unnecessary misunderstanding that could lead to unwarranted difficulties. The president said that he will explain the government's future course of action to the nation on April 30.