ISLAND VOICES
Taiwan must be in WHO

Raymond Wang is consul general at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Honolulu.

Does SARS need a visa or does AIDS a passport before entering your country? Of course not.

Since the 1980s, manmade national frontiers seem to have gradually disappeared due to the fast development of technology, transportation and communication. The trans-border flow and exchange of capital, investment and tourists that are hallmarks of globalization have made countries far away seem like neighbors. In the globalized world, however, the power of nation-states to manage risks has declined.

The "global village" is subject almost instantly to worldwide epidemics, which is why health is a global issue. That's also why the World Health Organization and other institutions have been globally active with a "Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network." To date, however, that network contains a serious loophole: Taiwan is not there.

After decades of the hard and concerted work of its 23 million people, Taiwan has become an economic powerhouse and one of the world's important trading nations. Taiwan is a major transportation hub linking Northeast and Southeast Asia, with roughly 4 million foreigners visiting Taiwan each year. But this also means that the island is vulnerable to epidemics and disease. For example, Taiwan was severely struck by the SARS epidemic in 2003, which caused 73 deaths in Taiwan. The "bird flu" that worried all members in the Pacific region, including the Aloha State, early this year also underscored the danger of Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO.

The goal of the WHO is the "attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of health." The WHO's objective requires the organization reach all peoples, regardless of state boundaries. To achieve this universal mandate, the framers added to the WHO Constitution some specific provisions permitting a wide variety of entities — such as non-member states, international organizations, national organizations, nongovernmental organizations — to play an active role in the activities of the WHO. In addition, many other entities have been allowed to participate in WHO sessions as observers, such as the Holy See, Palestine, the Order of Malta and the International Committee of the Red Cross.

As an independent "health entity," Taiwan possesses the health infrastructure, requisite manpower and scientific knowledge necessary to achieve the objectives fixed by the WHO Constitution. Despite its exclusion from the WHO, Taiwan has always sought to share and offer its resources with people in need around the world. For example, from 1995 to 2003, Taiwan donated to the international community over $120 million in medical and humanitarian relief to 78 countries spanning five continents. Taiwan also works cooperatively with many disease-prevention programs.

Excluding Taiwan from the WHO has no legal basis, constitutes a violation of the WHO's obligations under international law and has caused a loophole in global efforts at epidemic prevention. The global community must realize that the costs of excluding Taiwan from the WHO are incalculable. The people in Taiwan suffer, the health of the international community is jeopardized and the developing world loses priceless medical assistance and expertise.

Based on the principle of universality in terms of WHO's membership, certainly there must be room for Taiwan in the WHO.

It is time for members of the world, including the friendly people in the Aloha State, to voice their support for Taiwan's joining the WHO as an observer.