On the morning of October 28, President Ma Ying-jeou conferred the Order of Brilliant Star with Violet Grand Cordon on Emory University Professor Michael D. Malison, US Department of Health & Human Services' Office of the Assistant Secretary of Health's Regional Health Administrator for Region V James F. Lando, and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Dr. Wun-Ju Shieh (謝文儒) in recognition of their outstanding contributions to Taiwan's successful efforts to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and address the threat of other emerging infectious diseases.
The conferral ceremony was held at 9:20 a.m. at the Presidential Office.
In remarks delivered upon completion of the ceremony, the president said that Professor Malison is a distinguished global health expert from the United States who was invited in 1984 to serve as a health advisor to the ROC by K.T. Li (李國鼎), then the honorary chairman of the Institute for Information Industry. It was during that time that he helped establish Taiwan's Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP). President Ma stated that over the past 30 years, this training program has helped bolster disease prevention education in Taiwan and has made an outstanding contribution to public health here.
The president noted that when Taiwan was hit by an outbreak of SARS in 2003, he was Taipei City mayor, and Professor Malison dispatched experts from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to Taiwan to help survey the outbreak. This was effective in preventing the disease from spreading further, he said.
Next, President Ma commented that Dr. Lando, as the principal federal public health leader and a senior expert in epidemiology and emergency services, came to Taiwan to help fight the SARS outbreak. When the SARS outbreak first occurred at the Taipei Municipal Hoping Hospital, said the president, Dr. Lando willingly risked infection by entering the hospital with then Tzu Chi University College of Medicine Professor Ching-Chuan Yeh (葉金川) to take part in establishing a quarantine.
President Ma further stated that it was during his time as Taipei mayor that Dr. Lando also helped to establish disease prevention and control measures and to train health care workers here. Apart from effectively preventing further spread of SARS, the president said, these efforts proved to be extremely helpful for Taiwan in responding to the threats of the H1N1 and H7N9 avian flu viruses.
Turning the focus of discussion to Dr. Shieh, President Ma noted that he is a distinguished Taiwanese scholar and senior medical officer in the United States who provides pathology advisory services. Dr. Shieh, remarked the president, has done a lot of research on global public health and infectious diseases, and has participated in many important campaigns around the world to fight emerging infectious diseases. President Ma mentioned that Dr. Hsieh has returned to Taiwan on numerous occasions to help the government fight outbreaks of major infectious diseases.
The president also took advantage of the occasion to express his deepest respects to seven medical personnel here who died in the line of duty in the fight against SARS. These individuals were Dr. Lin Yong-xiang (林永祥), Dr. Lin Zhong-wei (林重威), Head Nurse Chen Jing-qiu (陳靜秋), Nurse Lin Jia-ling (林佳鈴), Deputy Director Zheng Xue-hui (鄭雪慧), Nurse Hu Gui-fang (胡貴芳), and Medical Technologist Cai Qia-miao (蔡巧妙). President Ma also said he is certain that their selfless acts in the care of their patients will always be remembered.
Commenting on the current Ebola outbreak, the president remarked that although no cases have been reported in Taiwan, the government is paying close attention and has established a central command center at the Centers for Disease Control under the Ministry of Health and Welfare. At the same time, the National Security Council and the Executive Yuan have upped their vigilance and are making every effort to prevent the entry into Taiwan of anyone from overseas who has been exposed to the virus. President Ma commented that, based on Taiwan's past experience, the government has a high degree of confidence that it will be able to successfully prevent an outbreak here.
Professor Malison, Dr. Lando, and Dr. Shieh each expressed appreciation, and everyone in attendance then raised their glasses in congratulations.
Professor Malison said he was deeply honored to receive the order from President Ma and that, on behalf of all those who were involved in the FETP, he thanked the government and people of Taiwan for the recognition.
He discussed being invited by K.T. Li to Taiwan 30 years ago to jointly found the training program, which has helped to train "disease detectives" here that serve as the first line of defense against public health threats. Professor Malison said he was very proud to receive this honor. He expressed hope that the president will continue supporting the FETP so that highly qualified disease detectives will be available to keep Taiwan free of disease maintain a healthy Taiwan.
Dr. Lando, in his remarks, first thanked the president on the presentation of the honor. He said that 11 years ago he led a team from the US CDC to Taiwan to help fight SARS, and this was one of the most unforgettable experiences of his career. He added that the support of the American Institute in Taiwan and the people of Taiwan was important to his work here. Dr. Lando expressed hope that relations between Taiwan and the United States will continue to grow, and that the cooperation between the two sides will become a prime example for the international health community.
Dr. Shieh said that receiving this order was the greatest honor of his life, and that he will work even harder in the fields of public health and infectious disease prevention. He also expressed hope that his efforts will not disappoint.