Taipei, July 20 (CNA) President Chen Shui-bian expressed hope Friday that Taiwan will be able to participate in the World Health Organization (WHO) as an observer "soon."
The president made the remarks when he attended the formal launch of the Bureau of Health Promotion (BHP) under the Department of Health in Taichung, central Taiwan.
The BHP is the result of the integration of the DOH's Bureau of Health Promotion and Protection and three institutes under the former Taiwan Provincial Government -- the Institute of Health, the Institute of Family Planning and the Maternal and Child Health Institute -- and is designed to cut bureaucratic overlap.
The president noted that U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tommy Thompson had spoken on behalf of the ROC's WHO observer bid during a WHO conference in Geneva earlier this year and added: "We hope that such a goal can be reached soon."
Chen also expressed hope that Taiwan's experience and the fruits of its medical research can be shared with other nations so as to contribute to world health.