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At a time when both Taiwan and the Chinese mainland are battling the mystery SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) or atypical pneumonia, some on the island are taking advantage of the disease to vilify the image of the central government.
Turning a deaf ear to central government's offer to provide whatever possible support to Taiwan to combat the illness, some island leaders have erroneously accused it of disregarding the health of the Taiwanese people.
Still smiting over its rejection by the World Health Organization (WHO) for independent membership, they also hit out at the international body, accusing it of ignoring the health and welfare of the Taiwan people.
Those voicing such sentiments cannot excuse themselves that they do not know that only sovereign states qualify for WHO membership. Their real aim is to once again draw fire on the central government, whose stance has always been against the separatist activities.
The latest example of mud throwing, but somewhat ineloquent rhetoric came in a newspaper advertisement placed by the island's "department of health." The advert stated: "Both SARS and bandit spies come from China, but with everyone's hard work the cases of SARS infection are less than the number of bandit spies [in Taiwan]."
It is contemptible and irresponsible for the island's health authority to seek to link a health issue with that of the highly sensitive cross-Straits relations. That may partly explain why the advertisement immediately drew singeing criticism from the Taiwanese public, who, for the most part, have longed for improved cross-Straits ties.
Common sense and verification by experts with the WHO investigating SARS in China, have shown that although the first reported cases of SARS were in Guangdong Province, it does not necessarily follow that China is the source of the disease. Therefore, the groundless likening of SARS to the so-called Chinese spy network operating on the island, is merely part and parcel of attempts to tarnish the image of the Chinese mainland.
Compared to the threat posed by the mystery disease, the enmity harbored by ill-intentioned people in Taiwan is far greater. While the former will assuredly be conquered, the latter, if unchecked, could do untold harm to the well-being of all Chinese.
(China Daily April 9, 2003)
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