本文的目的在於告知大眾，世界衛生組織（World Health Organization，WHO）再度於最近此次「嚴重緊急性呼吸道症候群」（Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome，SARS）傳染病的爆發中，漠視台灣兩千四百萬人民之基本人權——健康所遭受的威脅。儘管我們已在第一時間向全球疾病警戒與回應網絡提報台灣感染SARS的病例，然而，WHO卻未立即受理我們提供的報告，而後又錯誤地將這些案例歸類在「中國台灣」（China, Taiwan）之下。在SARS達到全球性警戒的第一個星期，WHO再一次拒絕受理我們所提出的協助要求，其根據乃是台灣並非WHO之會員國。台灣加入WHO的申請之所以長年受到拒絕，乃是由於中國以純粹的政治考量封殺我國的提案。台灣人民健康的犧牲，乃是國際社會持續相信中國宣稱其可負起台灣地區之健康看護責任所付出的代價。事實上，台灣所有的SARS疑似病例若非是直接自中國移入，則是因為與中國病患接觸而受到感染。我相信WHO對台灣相關事務的不公平處理，以及中國對台灣的封鎖，已經嚴重違反WHO憲章的前言：「享有最高可達到的健康標準，乃是每個人類所享有的基本權利之一，且此項原則不因其種族、宗教、政治信念、經濟或社會條件而有所改變。」

I am writing this article to inform you that the World Health Organization, WHO, has once again neglected health as a human right for 24 million Taiwanese people in the recent epidemic of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome, SARS. Although we have reported Taiwanese SARS cases immediately to the Global Outbreak Alert and Response Network, the WHO did not take our reported cases first and then incorrectly classified them under the name of “China, Taiwan.” The WHO also declined our request for assistance in the first week of the global SARS alert because Taiwan is not one member of the WHO. China has persistently blocked Taiwan’s entrance to the WHO for years for purely political considerations. The international community’s continued adherence to China’s claim of responsibility for Taiwan’s health care has proven costly to the health of the Taiwanese people. Actually, all suspected SARS cases in Taiwan were either directly transported from China or infected by contacting with cases from China. I believe that the WHO’s unfair practice and China’s blockade has seriously violated the Preamble to the WHO Constitution, which states that “[t]he enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health is one of the fundamental rights of every human being without distinction of race, religion, political belief, economic or social condition.”

　　對於台灣任何試圖從WHO取得的國際協助，中國均毫不猶豫地加以干擾；然而，在瞭解與公開承認其國內所爆發之SARS疫情已散播至世界的規模與嚴重性上，中國卻是出奇地緩慢。中國對自身SARS疫情的隱瞞已在全世界造成恐慌：在約有一百人已因SARS而死亡，而數千人已受感染之後的3月28日，亦即首例病患出現後的四個半月，中國才不得已地正式向外界公布SARS疫情始自中國廣東省。中國對國內與國際資訊的嚴格管制，可能已經助長SARS在全球的增生與散播。與之對照，我國從3月16日首度發現兩名SARS患者後，便立即並誠實地向WHO回報，並持續更新新增感染病例的數目。當中國政府決定向人民隱瞞此一潛在致命疾病的存在時，我國政府則是透過各種可利用的媒體，向所有的台灣居民與外國訪客告知與SARS相關的資訊及預防的方法。在出現SARS疫情的第一個月，儘管台灣處於孤立無援的狀態，然而憑藉著在公共衛生上的非凡努力，我們創下救活每位患者生命的先例。不過，直到現在，WHO仍然持續拒絕受理我們所請求的協助。很不幸地，我國在4月23日於台北市立和平醫院首度爆發院內感染，並於4月27日出現首位因SARS喪生的病患。在我們能夠得到WHO回應之前，台灣究竟還必須要等多久？我們還會公布多少死亡患者的數字？

China has been quick to interfere with any international assistance Taiwan sought from the WHO but slow to recognize and publicly acknowledge the scale and seriousness of her own SARS outbreak to the world. China's lethal secrecy over SARS is causing panic around the world, having killed about 100 people and infected thousands. It was only on March 28, four and half months after the original infection, which China formally but reluctantly recognized the SARS epidemic occurred in her Guangdong province. China's rigid control of information domestically and internationally may have helped the disease proliferate and spread around the world. By contrast, we have reported the first two Taiwanese SARS cases immediately and faithfully updated case numbers to the WHO since March 16. While the Chinese Government decided not to tell its own public about this potentially fatal disease, we used all possible media to communicate useful and life-saving information about SARS to all residents and visitors in Taiwan. Although, we have first saved the life of every SARS-infected patient in Taiwan through our lonely but extraordinary public health efforts in the first month of SARS epidemic. However, the WHO continued to deny our cry for help until now. Unfortunately, we had the first outbreak of hospital infection on April 23 in one Taipei city hospital and have the fist death due to SARS infection on April 27. I do not know how long the time must go by and how many lives Taiwan should claim before we can get answers from the WHO?

　　很反諷地，WHO向中國提出調查境內SARS病源的要求，至今仍未完全被中國官方所接受。為了全球的安全，國際社會不應容忍這種在處理重大傳染病（例如SARS）上不負責任的行為。儘管台灣可謂全球公民的模範，但是國際社群卻在缺乏任何正當性理由的情形下邊緣化我國。剝奪台灣人民參與公共健康合作的管道，就等於是在世界上進行一種健康觀護上的種族隔離政策：其不僅剝奪台灣人民的基本人權，並傷害成立WHO的崇高理想，同時更可能導致公共衛生的悲劇。

Ironically, the WHO’s request to investigate the origins of SARS epidemic inside China has not yet been fully allowed by the Chinese authority. For the sake of global security, the international community should not tolerate such irresponsible behavior of handling serious infectious diseases, such as SARS. Although being a model global citizen, the international community has marginalized Taiwan without any legitimate justification. By depriving the Taiwanese people of access to public health cooperation, the world is practicing a form of health care apartheid that not only deprives the Taiwanese people of basic human rights and undermines the WHO’s lofty ideals, but could potentially lead to a public health tragedy.

　　SARS這種傳染病使我們瞭解到世界正在改變，不會跨越國界引發感染的傳染病幾乎是微乎其微。我認為大家應該會同意我所提出的看法：在這個全球交通與貿易日益頻繁、新型細菌出現，與舊有疾病再度流行的新時代裡，國際衛生法規（International Health Regulations，IHR）應該進行修改，才得以在對世界交通產生最小衝擊的情形下，確保有效防範疾病於國際散佈所能獲致的最大安全。台灣應當與所有國家攜手合作，透過建立國家與國際對全球疾病加以警戒與進行回應行動的能力，以強化IHR。在WHO第一百一十一次執行委員會的決議中，有一項即為要求秘書長邀請非會員國以觀察員的身份於世界衛生大會（World Health Assembly，WHA）中參與關於修改IHR的討論。我相信，在即將到來的第五十六屆世界衛生大會中，台灣的SARS經驗對於WHO所有會員國在討論如何修改IHR時，將會是非常重要的。

The SARS epidemic has told us a lesson that the world is changing and very few urgent public health risks stay solely within national boundaries. I think you might agree with me that the International Health Regulations (IHR) ought to be remanded in the new era of increases in global traffic and trade, appearance of new microbes, and re-emergence of old diseases in order to ensure the maximum security against the international spread of diseases with minimum interference with world traffic. Taiwan should work with all countries to strengthen IHR by building up national and international capabilities of global outbreak alert and response activities. One resolution of the 111^th Executive Board of the WHO is to request the Director-General to invite non-member States as observers to participate in the discussion on the revisions of IHR in the WHA. I believe the experience of SARS in Taiwan will be very important to all WHO member States in the coming revision discussion in the 56^th World Health Assembly.

　　台灣位居重要的貿易與交通路線樞紐，這樣的一個地位實在不應被排除在全球對抗各種傳染病的戰役之外。若台灣得以加入WHO，我們不但可以居處在一個能夠確保對各種疾病之爆發有著即時偵察、治療與回應之網絡的世界，同時也可有效地保障台灣人民的人權。因此，我們應該呼籲WHO會員國支持台灣申請成為WHO觀察員的提案，讓台灣人民能夠與全世界人民並肩對抗各種對所有人類都具有致命威脅的各種新穎疾病。

Located on a strategic trade and communication route, Taiwan is simply too big a piece to be missed in global wars against all epidemics. By including Taiwan in the WHO, we can have a world where the timely detection, treatment and response networks for disease outbreaks and the preservation of human rights for Taiwanese people can both be safely secured. Therefore, we should ask the WHO member states to support for Taiwan’s appeal to be an observer in the WHO and let Taiwanese people work together with all people in the world to combat our common but deadly threats of newly emerging diseases.

　　在下個月中，台灣可採取下列三種具體的步驟以便成功地加入WHO。雖然我們不應過度樂觀地認為對修改IHR的討論將會有利於我國，不過我們仍然應當將它列入我國今年申請加入WHO所採取的策略之一。除了SARS與修改IHR的議題外，還有什麼是今年在WHA就台灣申請之提案所進行的辯論中，更能為台灣說話之真實且迫切的問題？首先，我們應先尋求主張大幅修改IHR之歐洲國家的支持。同時，我們亦應爭取因源自中國之SARS而受到波及之國家的支持。至於未來在如何處理於全球蔓延之SARS所進行的討論中，我國在自我定位上，應該堅持要和其他出現SARS疫情的國家（包括中國）有著平等的地位。無論我們喜歡美國與否，她仍然是世界上唯一會為其各種國家利益而強烈支持台灣的國家。美伊戰爭後，當今的國際局勢乃是由美國此單一強權所宰制的世界。我們應當與美國配合，將台灣加入WHO的舉措「偽裝成」美國願意與歐洲共同合作以形塑世界新秩序的姿態，同時並可「證明」此一世界新秩序不僅是建立在軍事與經濟的基礎上，亦是建立於人道關懷的基礎上。我們應當讓我們的美國朋友明白這點：台灣參與WHO的議題，乃是美伊戰爭後一種美國可藉以化解世界其他各地對其所懷有之敵意的方法。憑藉著這些支持，或許，我們很快地便能加入WHO。

There are three concrete steps that Taiwan can take in the coming month in order to successfully join the WHO. Although we should not be naive about IHR revision for our advantage, we should still place it as one of our strategies for this year’s WHO campaign. What else issues other than SARS and IHR revision can we have as real and immediate talking points for Taiwan this year in the coming WHA’s debate on Taiwan issue? We should first seek the support from those European countries that favor strong IHR revision. We should also gain support from those countries affected by the SARS epidemic originated from China. We should position us an equal status with other SARS-afflicted countries including China in future discussion on dealing with the global SARS epidemic. Like it or not, US is still the only country in the world which strongly support Taiwan for all sorts of her interests. After Iraq war, this is the single superpower world now dominated by the US. We should work with the US to "use" Taiwan's participation in WHO as a gesture that the US is willing to work with European counterparts to shape a new world order, which is based not only on military and economic but also humanitarian basis. We should let our American friends know that Taiwan's WHO issue is a way the US can reconcile with the rest of the world after the Iraq war. With all these supports, we may be able to enter the WHO soon.