Visiting WHO Director-General Lee Jong-wook said Monday his
"simple and clear-cut conclusion" is that China's membership in the
World Health Organization is paramount, and Taiwan is not welcome
as a separate player in the organization.
"This is also a position that I will stick to in the future," he
said on his first visit to China as the WHO's director-general.
Lee spoke after Gao Qiang, China's executive vice-minister of
health, expressed concerns over the Taiwan authority trying to join
WHO independently after being turned down for seven years.
Gao said the Taiwan authority's goal is explicitly political,
noting that officials on the Chinese island province have been
lobbying for it to become a member, whether officially or an
observer.
"What concerns the Taiwan authority is not the health issue, but
the political issue. WHO should not become a political stage," Gao
indicated.
He said the Chinese government considers the well-being and
health of Taiwan's people important, and has adopted a positive
attitude in regard to supporting Taiwan experts in WHO meetings in
the aftermath of SARS.
The mainland welcomes Taiwan experts to attend the World Health
Assembly next month, he said.
Lee and Gao also pledged during their meeting to increase
cooperation.
Although he does not believe the battles against SARS and avian
flu have ended, Lee said he was quite impressed by China's quick
control of the two diseases.
He said the "extraordinary achievements" have given him
confidence in view of the campaign China is waging against
AIDS.
China has displayed remarkable capacity to improve the
situation, once it realizes the necessity, and top leadership is
displaying interest in the fight, he said.
Gao applauded the move by the WHO to ensure "available medicines
at affordable prices for AIDS patients," saying China welcomes the
WHO's help.
According to Gao, the biggest problem for China in its fight
lies not in related policies or financial support, but the
effectiveness of the medicines involved, because the government has
policies to allow access to AIDS medicine for poverty-stricken
rural patients and allocated special funds to support the cause.
Unfortunately, the side effects of current therapies are hard to
overcome.
Vomiting and headaches are the most prominent side effects, and
China is in need of the WHO's help for better therapies, he
said.
China has an estimated 850,000 HIV carriers.
Lee noted that the WHO and China can cooperate effectively not
only in related medicines but also in diagnosis and treatment.
The two officials discussed the planned revision of the World
Health Regulation, which will promote more efficient international
cooperation in dealing with contagious diseases.
Gao said the revision should take into consideration the
different situations of different countries, because otherwise the
implementation of the regulation may freeze out less-developed
nations.
(China Daily April 20, 2004)