[Congressional Record Volume 149, Number 78 (Friday, May 23, 2003)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1074]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                       OBSERVER STATUS FOR TAIWAN

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. MICHAEL C. BURGESS

                                of texas

                    in the house of representatives

                         Thursday, May 22, 2003

  Mr. BURGESS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in recognition of the World 
Health Organization's 56th World Health Assembly in Geneva, Switzerland 
this week, and to voice my support of granting Taiwan observer status 
for WHO functions.
  In her opening address to the Assembly, WHO Director-General Dr. Gro 
Harlem Brundtland outlined the key lessons learned so far from the 
outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and called for 
expanded surveillance and rapid response to save lives and protect 
economies against new diseases in the future.
  In February, the world was introduced to this dangerous new disease. 
It is believed that the current epidemic originated in China, rapidly 
spread to East and Southeast Asia, and then onto Europe, the United 
States, Canada, and the rest of the world in a manner that left many in 
the medical community searching for answers.
  Global infection rates seemed to peak in mid-March, but the 
persistent nature of SARS continues to raise concern among both medical 
professionals and government officials.
  The United States has been able to keep this disease at bay--but 
other members of the international community have had more difficulty 
dealing with the disease and some international organizations have 
hindered the sharing of information and resources, most notably with 
Taiwan.
  The World Health Organization has reported over 7,800 cases of SARS 
worldwide in 33 countries, with more than 600 deaths. More than 7,000 
of these cases have been reported in Asia. The people of Taiwan have 
been especially affected. They have recorded 344 cases of SARS and 40 
deaths, but have no representation in the World Health Organization. 
The international community does not largely recognize theirs as a 
legitimate government, thus limiting the degree of help that is 
available to this tiny, democratic nation. If Taiwan was able to 
participate as an observer of WHO, additional resources could be 
brought to bear to address their domestic health crisis.
  More needs to be done to contain this disease and a good first step 
would be to grant WHO observer status to Taiwan.
  On June 17, 2003, WHO plans to hold an international conference in 
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia to review the epidemiological, clinical 
management and laboratory findings on SARS and to discuss global 
control strategies. Key participants in the response to the current 
outbreaks and other public health authorities will be invited to attend 
the conference. But since Taiwan is not even granted observer status in 
WHO, it has not been invited to participate in this vital convention. 
This is especially troubling, since recent reports show that Taiwan is 
at the epicenter of this epidemic.
  I hope my colleagues will join me in supporting the admittance of 
Taiwan's health minister to attend the WHO's conference on infectious 
diseases next month in Malaysia.

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