Mainlanders Are Concerned for Taiwan Compatriots' Battle against SARS

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Tuesday, May 27, 2003

Mainlanders Are Concerned for Taiwan Compatriots' Battle against SARS

In the anti-SARS struggle, people of the whole country, united as one, have written an emotional symphony of destiny. In the face of the rampant SARS (severe acute respiratory syndrome), compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, who are attached to and concerned for each other, have composed another song of affinity of the Chinese nation.

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In the anti-SARS struggle, people of the whole country, united as one, have written an emotional symphony of destiny. In the face of the rampant SARS, compatriots on both sides of the Taiwan Straits, who are attached to and concerned for each other, have composed another song of affinity of the Chinese nation.

Transmitting information through various channels

It is extremely important to have adequate information in the fight against SARS. As early as April 11, Liu Peilong, director of the Office in charge of Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao Affairs under the Ministry of Health, pointed out at a press conference: Although Taiwan has not raised the request, we have actively tried to link information and share experiences with Taiwan departments concerned through non-governmental channels. Since SARS contracted cases were discovered in Taiwan in March, the departments concerned of the Chinese mainland have released timely information in the websites of the Ministry of Health and the China Center for the Prevention and Control of Diseases and have, through non-governmental channels, quickly transmitted the experiences gained by Guangdong Province in the research, prevention and control of SARS to relevant Taiwan specialized units and experts and scholars. . Liu Peilong also indicated that experts of the mainland have some experiences in the fight against SARS, so long as they receive invitations, they will start off to go to Taiwan and engage in exchange and consultation with the experts and scholars of Taiwan.

In the first 10 days of April, Associate Researcher He Mei-Hsiang of a Taiwan research institute, Deputy President He Li-hsin of a Taiwan hospital and Expert Lin Yi-lin came for investigation of the situation regarding SARS prevention and treatment in the Chinese mainland at the invitation of the China Center for Disease Prevention and Control. After several days of busy exchanges, He Mei-hsiang said that the mainland had fairly rich experience in the diagnosis and treatment of SARS, which Taiwan medical circles deserve to take for reference.

Thereafter, the departments concerned on the mainland made arrangements for several cross-Strait symposiums on the prevention and control of SARS. On April 23, experts and scholars from Taiwan, Hong Kong and Macao regions, together with representatives from the WHO (World Health Organization), gathered in Beijing to discuss methods for the discovery, prevention and treatment of SARS. On May 9, the China Hospital Management Society and its Taiwan counterpart held teleconference of "Cross-strait Seminar on the Prevention and Treatment of SARS" at three meeting places of Beijing, Guangzhou and Taipei. More than 20 medical specialists from both sides of the Straits attended and spoke at the meeting. At the cross-Strait teleconference on the prevention and treatment of SARS with traditional Chinese medicine held on May 25, Cao Hongxin, president of the Beijing-based China Traditional Chinese Medical Research Institute, made public eight kinds of Chinese medical prescriptions and immediately transmitted them in fax to Taipei for the reference of local departments concerned.

Extending possible material support

As the epidemic happened repeatedly on the Island of Taiwan, Jinmen (Quemoy) across the sea was relatively calm. Unexpectedly in early May, a suspected SARS patient was discovered in Jinmen, this caused the anti-epidemic situation to suddenly become severe there. The Jinmen authority cabled the department concerned in Fujian, expressing its hope to get assistance from Fujian. Under the circumstance of the shortage of goods, the Fujian Provincial Office for SARS Prevention and Control organized factories to work overtime to turn out 5,000 protective masks and presented and sent them to Jinmen through the local passenger liner "The Oriental Star". The relevant organizations of Fujian also volunteered to grant 3,000 masks and three air sterilizers to Mazu (Matsu) Island.

On May 12, Wang Lizhong, executive vice-president of the China Red Cross Society, sent a letter to Chen Chang-wen, president of the Taiwan Red Cross Society, expressing "willingness to donate, through you, to Taiwan compatriots medical articles for the prevention and treatment of SARS, which the Chinese mainland can provide. I request that you quickly provide us with the detailed list of urgently needs goods, standard, quantity and other data, our society will try its best to extend assistance and jointly combat the epidemic.

On May 23, the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) sent a letter to the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), expressing the hope that it would donate, through SEF, to Taipei, Kaohsiung and other cities and counties with serious epidemic situation, 200,000 medical protective suits (coupled with 200,000 pairs of shoe covers), 100,000 masks up to N95 standard and five ambulances with negative pressure and isolation functions, and organize a medical team composed of noted specialists and medical personnel with frontline clinical experience to go to Taiwan to exchange with their counterparts experiences in the prevention and treatment of epidemic, study measures for and participate in the work of cure and treatment.

As soon as the medical circles of the Chinese mainland achieve research results, they will immediately and voluntarily provide Taiwan compatriots with these results. The Beijing Genome Research Institute under the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Beijing-based Huada Gene Research Center has donated to a Taiwan hospital 1,100 injections of "SARS virus enzyme linked immunity detection reagent boxes". The China Center for Disease Prevention and Control granted a new generation of 2,000 "SARS coronavirus anti-body linked immunity reagent boxes" in support of the said Taiwan hospital , the viral disease prevention and control office of this center also indicated that it would try its best to provide further assistance.

The Beijing municipal government has also collected adequate materials, ready to support Taiwan compatriots in their anti-SARS struggle. The Chinese Medical Association, the Chinese Hospital Management Association and other organizations have also actively prepared to donate medical articles to the medical circles of Taiwan.

Although there are people in the island who do not want to see the profound friendship expressed by the compatriots on the Chinese mainland for the Taiwan compatriots and do not want to allow some materials to enter the treasure island, compatriots of the Chinese mainland, however, are ready at all time to make their contributions to an early victory won by Taiwan compatriots over the disease of SARS.

Deep concern for Taiwan compatriots

Of course, the central leadership and the departments concerned have always been concerned about Taiwan compatriots' anti-SARS situation. As early as the beginning of April, Premier Wen Jiabao of the State Council, when conducting an investigation of Beijing, instructed the departments concerned to do a good job in information exchange and link with and providing cooperation and help for Taiwan departments concerned. At the meeting for the establishment of the National Command for the Prevention and Control of SARS held on April 24, Premier Wen Jiabao again emphasized the need to strengthen cooperation with the Hong Kong and Macao special administrative regions and with Taiwan Province.

The Taiwan Democratic Self-government League and the All-China Federation of Taiwan Compatriots as well as Taiwan compatriots living in the Chinese mainland are very anxious about the fellow countrymen in their hometowns. The All-China Federation of Trade Unions, the All-China Youth Federation and the All-China Women's Federation have, in their letters of sympathy, expressed the deep concerns by the mainland's workers, youth and women for Taiwan compatriots.

Just as Vice-Premier Wu Yi has said in her review that after the epidemic of SARS occurred in Taiwan, the Central Government has quickly adopted a series of measures to strengthen cross-Strait exchange and cooperation, specialized medical institutions included have transmitted to their Taiwan counterparts information about the epidemic of SARS, technology and policies for prevention and control, and have invited Taiwan professionals to come to the mainland to conduct on-the-spot inspection of the work of preventing and treating SARS disease, to hold "cross-Strait academic symposium on the prevention and control of SARS" The China Center for the Prevention and Control of Diseases provides detection reagents of SARS for Taiwan departments concerned.

The kind sentiments appear to be more valuable at the time of disaster, the Chinese mainland is expecting that Taiwan compatriots could hold back the spread of the epidemic as soon as possible and achieve an early recovery of the life of peace and health.

By People's Daily Online

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