The
prevention of tobacco usage has become a global
issue. |
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¡@¡@
Since the prevention of tobacco usage has become a global
issue, we would like to use that as the main topic, to lead
us to study the health risk of tobacco usage, the advantage
of staying clear of tobacco products, the creation of smoke-free
environment, and the anti-smoking trend around the globe. In
addition, we will make people aware of the truth about the tobacco
companies, and how they have created numerous social, environmental,
economic, and governmental problems in favor of their profitability.
¡@¡@In
the recent years, Taiwan is proactively sharing its tobacco control
experience with the rest of the world, even providing some assistance.
For example, starting in 2002, it partners with the anti-tobacco
organization in Cambodia to print anti-smoking teaching aids and
train anti-smoking teachers. This move enabled Cambodia, which
was troubled by 30 years of civil war, and whose rate of tobacco
usage among male is 70%, to take the first step away from poverty.
Anti-smoking is an important link of any public health policies,
as well as the basis for a wealthy country. We are willing to
follow the global trend to fight tobacco usage, and to work hard
toward a smoke-free world.
¡@¡@Even
though Taiwan is not a large nation, it does have a population
of 23 million, giving it the 2nd highest population density in
the world. Taiwan has a sound public health system, remarkable
medical professionals, amazing R&D capabilities, and lots
of valuable experiences. We are waiting to share with the rest
of the world the experiences such as dealing with the Severe Acute
Respiratory Syndrome, or SARS, and the research on drugs for the
avian flu, but we are unable to participate due to many political
reasons.
¡@¡@On January
14, 2005, The Legislative Yuan of R.O.C. voted in favor of enacting
the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, or FCTC, before the
World Health Organization, or WHO, was set to officially enact
the FCTC on February 27. The bill was then sent to the Executive
Yuan of R.O.C. to ask the President to grant the instrument of
accession in order to complete the legislation process. Taiwan
thus became the 51st country to have passed this convention. Therefore,
we hope that by enacting the FCTC in Taiwan at the same time as
the rest of the world, it would give us a chance to utilize our
local experiences to open the door to participate in the WHO.
¡@¡@We are
announcing to the world that Taiwan is voluntarily adhering to
the FCTC, in order to elevate the commitment for better health
of our citizens. Let Taiwan and WHO concurrently push for the
prevention and cessation of smoking, opening the door for Taiwan
to obtain the status as an observer for FCTC at the WHO. This
important step will enable Taiwan to be on the same page with
the rest of the world on public health policies, and eventually
achieve the goal of becoming a member of the WHO.
¡@¡@We strongly
urge the United Nations to treat us fairly by accepting our FCTC
participation binder. Doing so will materialize the ideal of "health
knows no boundary." Regrettably, our participation binder
did not garner the attention of the United Nations. Taiwan's twenty
three million people are saddened by this inattention. However,
we firmly believe that our government will use any means possible
to urge the world to place an importance on our basic right to
participate in the world's public health system.
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