Since SARS was first
reported in the Taiwan Island on March 15, 2003, the
government of the People's Republic of China has paid close
attention to its development. Premier Wen Jiabao has
instructed personally that information exchange on SARS
prevention and control across the Taiwan Strait should be
enhanced, and the Mainland should support and care the
health and well-being of the Taiwan compatriots through
concrete measures. Though no such request has been made to
Ministry of Health of the People's Republic of China by the
Taiwan authorities, the relevant departments of the Mainland
have actively promoted the exchange of information and
experience on SARS through non-governmental channels, which
have achieved noticeable results.
1. Information Transfer
In order to provide the Taiwan people
with quick access to the SARS information in the Mainland,
we update the latest epidemic information, case definition,
knowledge of prevention and treatment schemes on a daily
basis on the websites of the Ministry of Health and the
Chinese CDC. In addition, social and health organizations of
the Mainland also send such information to the relevant
organizations and experts in Taiwan area. The Chinese
Medical Association, the Chinese Association of Preventive
Medicine and the Chinese Association of Hospital Management
have done a great deal of work on this regard.
2. Exchange of Experts
Apart from information exchange,
experts from Taiwan are also welcome to the Mainland to work
with their counterparts in combating the disease.
During April 8-14, 2003, Dr. He Meixiang, the
representative of the Taipei Medical Association visited the
Mainland, she visited the Chinese CDC and other medical,
public health and research institutions in Beijing and
Guangdong. During the visits, she had discussions
with the experts in the Mainland and the both sides
exchanged experience on the prevention and control of
SARS. The Mainland has also organized
a SARS expert team to work in Taiwan. If Taiwan
authority or medical society has such requests, the expert
team can go to Taiwan area immediately to work together with
Taiwan experts.
3. Organizing
Cross-Strait Scientific Meeting
During April 23-24, 2003,
"Cross-Strait Seminar on SARS Prevention and
Treatment was jointly sponsored and organized by the
Chinese Medical Association of Hospital Management.
A total of forty-five experts in the fields of
preventative medicine, virology, respiratory medicine and
infectious medicine from the Mainland, Taiwan, Hong Kong and
Macao attended the meeting. Seven experts were
from Taiwan. The delegates reported the situation
of SARS in their respective regions and measures that have
been taken. Topics, such as prevention and
control, diagnoses and treatment, epidemiological and
etiological studies, were discussed in the meeting.
Dr. Denk Bekedam, WHO Representative in China,
attended the seminar, and his deputy gave a presentation on
the Global SARS Situation and
Response. On May 9, 2003, a
tele-conference the Cross-Strait Seminar on SARS
Prevention and Control, jointly sponsored by the
Chinese Association, was held in Beijing, Guangdong and
Taipei. Leading experts across the Strait
participated in the meeting and discussed technical details
on SARS prevention and treatment. Among the
participants, about twenty were from
Taiwan.
4. Supplying Latest
Diagnostic Reagents On May 1, 2003, as
requested by the Taiwan Association of Preventative
Medicine, the Chinese CDC donated the self-made SARS
diagnostic reagent knits to Taiwan to be used on a trial
basis.
5. Ensuring timely
treatment for Taiwan people in the
Mainland Since the outbreak of SARS,
all provinces, municipalities and autonomous regions in the
Mainland have designated hospitals with better medical
service and facilities to treat foreigners and compatriots
from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao. The list of
these designated hospitals has been published on Internet to
ensure that Taiwan compatriots in the Mainland can get good
and timely medical
services.
Taiwan is part of
China. The both sides of the Taiwan Strait belong
to one China. The central government, at each and
every moment, pays close attention to SARS development
within the Taiwan Island and the health and well-being of
the 20 million Taiwan people. The central
government will continue to facilitate the cooperation and
exchange on SARS between the both sides. We appeal
to the medical experts of the both sides across the Strait
to join hands, establish a communication and exchange
mechanism so as to win the war against SARS and make
contributions to the health of the Chinese people.
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