MEDICAL GROUPS SUPPORTS TAIWAN'S PRESENCE IN WHA|WHA未邀請台灣 醫界上街用行動發聲

The World Health Assembly opens today, and Taiwan is still not invited. Medical groups yesterday gathered in front of Taipei Main Station. They said Taiwan's exclusion creates a dangerous loophole in global epidemic control. Doctors, nurses and public health workers got together for the first time since Taiwan was excluded from the WHA to register their view that Taiwan is an essential part of the global health community. ==YEH KUANG-FAN Chair, Air Clean Taiwan== Here in Taipei, we hope the whole world can see Taiwan, so we are holding this activity to emphasize that Taiwan is an essential part of the global health system, we need them, they need us. NGOs and public health groups held an international press conference in Chinese, English, French and German and read out some articles emphasizing the mutual importance of the WHO. In 2003 during the SARS epidemic, 84 people died of the disease. National Taiwan University Medical Hospital doctor, Lu Lee said that Taiwan had not received an international warning about SARS, leading to many unnecessary deaths. ==DR. LU LEE NTNU Hospital== I took care of SARS patients, we really needed information about SARS then, which virus strain it was. The need for solidarity when facing disease should not be forgotten just because of political considerations. If Taiwan's doctors and scientists join in, then progress is faster. Taiwan's medical community said that in a few hours the Assembly will open and called on the WHO to invite Taiwan so that Taiwan can work in tandem with the rest of the world to fight disease. TRANSLATED BY：CLARE LEAR 世界衛生大會WHA 22日即將開幕，但今年台灣未受邀請。醫界團體呼籲，WHA摒除台灣是留下防疫漏洞，希望世衛在最後關頭，能發出邀請函給台灣，同時今天也在台北車站前，排出WHO需要台灣的大標語，用行動發聲。 在人潮最多的台北車站前方忠孝西路，白色衣服白色氣球，在藍布背景上，排出大大的WHO needs Taiwan字樣，這是醫師、護理、公衛界，首度為台灣未能參與今年WHA事件，聚集在一起，用行動向WHO呼籲，全球防疫不能缺少台灣。 ==台灣健康空氣行動聯盟理事長 葉光芃== 我們在台北 希望全世界看到台灣 所以我們特別排了一個 世衛WHO NEEDS TAIWAN 我們當然需要世衛 但世衛也需要台灣 台灣沒有邀請函，無法參加今年的WHA年會，多個民間團體和多名公衛醫療人士，今天還舉行國際記者會，用中英德法文，朗讀聲明稿，強調台灣與WHO都需要彼此。尤其2003年爆發SARS事件，國內共84人死亡，台大醫生呂立表示，台灣沒有即時收到國際SARS警訊，才造成很多無辜生命離開。 ==台大醫生 呂立== 我也照顧過SARS病人 那時候我們很需要SARS資料 SARS的這個包括病毒株 如果大家只是因為政治的因素 就忘記了大家需要團結合作 一起面對病毒 台灣的科學家也可以一起來努力 事實上就會讓這個部分進步的更快 台灣醫界表示，距離WHA開幕還有幾個小時，呼籲WHO秘書處在開幕前，能發出邀請函，讓衛福部長陳時中進入WHA，讓台灣對全球醫療持續貢獻。 記者　李曉儒　彭耀祖　台北報導