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WHO rebuffs Taiwan
GENEVA, Switzerland (CNN) -- The World Health Organization has rebuffed Taiwan's seventh bid to join the global health group. Demonstrators outside U. N. headquarters in Geneva, where the WHO was holding its annual assembly, demanded Taiwan be given observer status. But the assembly on Monday accepted without a vote a recommendation by its general committee that Taiwan not be admitted as an observer. Over the past few weeks, officials in Taiwan have said that exclusion from the WHO is making it harder for them to fight the SARS crisis. The flu-like virus has infected 344 people and killed 40 in Taiwan, the third-highest toll in the world behind China and Hong Kong. "The whole world recognizes that if Taiwan is not part of the WHO or part of the international medical community, then Taiwan is going to be a serious loophole in containing the SARS disease," according to Joseph Wu, Taiwan Presidential Advisor. Taiwan has been seeking WHO entry, or at least observer status, long before SARS. But the SARS crisis prompted them to apply for observer status at the WHO as a "health entity" instead of a country. They were supported in their bid by the United States. Unlike other Asian countries, Taiwan has not been included in the latest WHO data and advice on containing, treating and preventing the disease. Indeed, it took seven weeks after Taiwan's first SARS case before the WHO dispatched two experts to the island, and that still required Beijing's permission. Taiwan's health minister Twu Shiing-jer quit his post Friday over criticism of the way authorities have handled the outbreak. His decision came after numerous complaints about disorganization, lack of effective crisis management planning, and political bickering. Dr. Lee Ming liang, who heads Taiwan's anti-SARS effort, says that Taiwan being out of the WHO loop during a critical time made a bad situation worse. "We kept sending out results and results. We got some response but not in an active way," says Dr. Lee. The island's hospitals have been particularly hard hit, with three reporting clusters of SARS patients in the past few days. Hundreds of doctors and patients have been quarantined. A number of doctors quarantined have been respiratory disease specialists. "Because we didn't have those kinds of data and procedures from the WHO, that is the reason why we had the hospital outbreak a few weeks ago," says Wu. Beijing, which views the island as a renegade Chinese province, has consistently blocked Taiwan's efforts for entry. "Taiwan, as a province of China, is not entitled to join the WTO or participate as an observer," says Zhang Qiyue, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokeswoman. "We are strongly opposed to the attempt of Taiwan to join the WTO in any capacity." Taiwan officials say Beijing is playing politics with SARS, although analysts point out the island has tried to exploit SARS to push its own agenda. -- CNN's Mike Chinoy contributed to this report.
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