I WOULD like to share some views with the readers regarding the country where I am from — Taiwan (the Republic of China )and its pledge and aspiration of its 23 million people for Taiwan’s entry into the World Health Organization.
To make the long story brief, the Republic of China, or ROC, was founded in 1912. When the Chinese Communist established the People’s Republic of China, or PRC, on the Chinese mainland in 1949, the ROC government relocated to Taiwan. Today, it maintains jurisdiction over Taiwan, Penhu, Kimmen and Matsu. Since 1949, the two sides of the Taiwan Strait have been governed as separate territories with different political and economical systems which resulted in different identities and cultures.
In terms of political development, Taiwan has grown into a free and vibrant democracy. Taiwan’s dynamic free-market economy has brought unprecedent prosperity to its 23 million people.
Due to its flourishing economy, the Government of Taiwan has in recent years made great stride in providing for the welfare of its people. During the past year, particular attention has been given to improving its public health insurance system. Taiwan is also an energetic promoter of human relief, above and beyond expenditures in support of wide programs.
It has contributed more than US$450 million in funds and materials over the past decade. In 2005, Taiwan’s public and private sectors donated over US$200 million in funds and supplies for the relief efforts in countries stricken by the Indian Ocean Tsunami of December 2004, and the government donated 600,000 capsules of Tamiflu to Vietnam to help the country prepare for a possible outbreak of avian flu among humans. Those are just part of Taiwan’s willingness to be a positive and constructive contributor to the overall health well-being of the global community.
But we regret to see the continued international negligence toward the basic health right of the people of Taiwan within the World Health Organization. In 1971, ROC’s seat in the United Nations was replaced by the Communist PRC which resulted in Taiwan’s withdrawal from the WHO the following year. So from 1972, Taiwan has been excluded from this most important international health organization.
Being cut off to the resources and assistance of the WHO, the government has to deal on its own with challenges arising from its public health care system,epidemic prevention and control efforts and other health-related issues. The reality of being excluded from the international health framework due to international political arrangement forced Taiwan to pay a dear price in human lives in 2003’s SARS outbreak. This kind of unjust and inhuman toward Taiwan not only hurt its 23 million people, but also threatens the whole global infectious diseases prevention system.
To correct it will require some courage in the international community to counter Communist China’s so-called “one China policy.” Do you think that a policy like this can override the basic rights of the people to pursue their well-being based on their choice of political system?
The preamble of the World Health Organization Constitution states that “the enjoyment of highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.” Based on the above, why should Taiwanese people be denied of that right only because they refuse to be under a communist regime? PRC’s propaganda repeatdly claiming Taiwan as a renegade part of its regime, an authoritarian regime, which lacks democratic check and balance. The sad and traumatic incident of the 1989 Tianmen Sqare massacre still lingers in Taiwanese people’s memories. They have witnessed what a regime really does to its own people, not what it says.
The international community, especially the western world, should not let Taiwan stand alone in its struggle to preserve its freedom and democracy, and most importantly, to pursue the well-being of enjoying the highest attainable standard of health for its 23 million people.

Dr. CHIN-TIAN LEE
Professor Emeritus and
former Dean of University of Guam