By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
Former US representative Tom Tancredo visited former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in hospital yesterday and expressed his concerns about Chen’s health.
A former representative from Colorado, Tancredo, 66, arrived in Taipei late on Thursday and visited Chen at the Taipei Veterans General Hospital, accompanied by former Democratic Progressive party (DPP) legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮).
‘SONS OF TAIWAN’:Lee Teng-hui praised the British-born father and son doctors for helping bring Western medical science to Taiwan and for saving lives
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter, in Changhua City
Former president Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) yesterday paid tribute to the late British physicians David Landsborough (蘭大衛) and David Landsborough IV (蘭大弼), in Changhua, saying that the doctors, who spent decades in Taiwan saving people’s lives, were “true Taiwanese.”
“Those who recognized and made contributions to this land like the Landsboroughs did, could claim they are Taiwanese,” Lee said during his visit to the Changhua Christian Hospital (CCH), part of his three-day visit to Changhua and Yunlin counties that began yesterday.
STRESSED OUT:Although they were unable to make a full physical examination, US medical experts said they could tell that Chen Shui-bian is suffering from stress
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
The conditions of former president Chen Shui-bian’s (陳水扁) confinement in prison are “unacceptable” and have affected his physical as well as mental health, US-based medical experts said yesterday.
Joseph Lin, Ken Yoneda and Charles Whitcomb, professors at the University of California at Davis, told the Taipei Times that Chen’s health and the conditions of his confinement were “disturbing” and an issue of human rights and humanitarianism.
The three professors visited Chen, who is serving a 17-and-a-half-year prison term for corruption, at Taipei Prison on Monday and spent about an hour with him.
By Chris Wang / Staff reporter
A delegation of three US doctors is set to arrive in Taiwan today and visit former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁) in jail in the afternoon, the office of former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislator Chai Trong-rong (蔡同榮) said in a press release.
The delegation includes Ken Yoneda, a professor of clinical internal medicine at University of California, Davis, Charles Whitcomb, also a professor at UC Davis specializing in cardiovascular diseases, and Joe Lin, a member of UC Davis’s Board of Trustees.
By Chris Wang / Staff Reporter
Different expectations about medical services in Taiwan and China could represent a great challenge for Taiwan with the Chinese free independent travelers (FIT) program, a cross-strait medical service provider said yesterday.
“More than a reasonable fraction of hospitalized Chinese tourists intentionally extend their stay in Taiwanese hospitals, which have long been known for top-notch medical services,” International SOS general manager Keynes Chen (陳楷植) said.
“They even invited family members and relatives to come to Taiwan and visit them in hospital so they could brag about it,” he said.
Meanwhile, most Taiwanese clients of the international healthcare and security company asked to return home as soon as possible after falling ill in China, Chen said.
Following the launch of the FIT program on June 28, an increasing number of Chinese tourists could mean more trouble for Taiwanese hospitals, which have had difficulty collecting medical bills from Chinese patients, Chen said.
Although he did not have the numbers for uncollected debt from Chinese patients, Chen said the number could be “alarming.”
The insurance coverage rate in Taiwan reaches 200 percent, which means two premiums for every citizen, Chen said. In China, the coverage rate is about 10 percent, which explains why the medical debt in China is so high, he said.
In negotiations with China, Taiwan has requested that Chinese travelers purchase overseas travel insurance to ensure medical bills will be paid if they are admitted to a hospital, Bureau of Medical Affairs Director-General Shih Chung-liang (石崇良) said before the first group of FITs arrived.
However, Shih said both sides failed to reach agreement during the sixth round of negotiations between Straits Exchange Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) and Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait Chairman Chen Yunlin (陳雲林).
Taiwan will make the request again during a working group meeting this month or next to discuss the Cross-Strait Agreement on Medical and Health Cooperation, which was signed in December.
Taipei, May 18 (CNA) Despite Ireland's economic woes, it is still a good option for Taiwanese investors because of its policy on direct foreign investment, which promises low corporate taxes and high incentives for foreign investors, Taiwan's representative to that country said Tuesday. Ireland's transparency, quality higher education, clear policies and sound integration of corporate and academic resources position it to bounce back soon from its PIIGS listing, said David Lee, head of the Taipei Representative Office in Ireland.
The PIIGS acronym refers to the European countries of Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain, which have been plagued by government deficits, huge national debts and high unemployment rates.
According to the British Broadcast Corporation (BBC) , Ireland's estimated gross debt in 2010 is expected to be 82.9 percent of its gross domestic product (GDP) and its current jobless rate is 13.3 percent.
Nonetheless, Lee said, Ireland could serve as a springboard or gateway for Taiwanese businesses looking to break into European markets.
"Ireland will be able to rise from its economic slump and other troubles because it has a sound national structure and has always been able to adapt quickly," said Lee.
In the two decades before Ireland was hit by the 2008 financial crisis, it was known as the Celtic Tiger because of its strong economy and fast economic growth, Lee noted.
However, several Taiwanese investors have pulled out of Ireland recently and have opted to relocate in other countries such as Poland because of rising wages, he said. Taiwan has experienced a similar problem of high production costs forcing local businesses to move to China, he noted.
"The more I learn about Ireland, the more similarities I see with Taiwan, " said Lee, who has been stationed in Dublin since May 2008.
In some ways, Ireland-United Kingdom (U.K.) relations are very much like Taiwan-China relations, he said.
Like Taiwan, "Ireland is an island country off the coast of a regional power," he said. "Some 70 percent of Irish exports go to the U.K. market, while 40 percent of Taiwan's exports are to China." In addition, Ireland and Taiwan are both facing the challenge of moving up the value chain in terms of industry upgrade and corporate branding, Lee said.
He encouraged other Taiwan businesses to follow in the footsteps of G-LED Lighting -- a green energy manufacturing company that has invested 5 million euros in Ireland -- and take advantage of the incentives being offered and the country's focus on developing green energy, its financial sector, and the medical equipment and bio-tech industries.
He also urged that more Taiwan students and tourists visit Ireland, which he said is known for its rich history, literature and scenery.
Since Ireland granted Taiwan visa-free status last year, the number of Taiwan tourists to that country has increased and "it is now common to see Taiwanese tour groups on the streets of Dublin," Lee said. (By Chris Wang) enditem /pc
Taipei, May 7 (CNA) A local hospital's medical team has saved two African boys suffering from severe burns in an emergency medical relief mission coordinated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA), the ministry and hospital said Friday.
The two unrelated 7-year-old boys, from Taiwan's western African diplomatic ally Sao Tome and Principe, arrived in Taiwan on April 11 for emergency treatment due to the lack of medical support in the country and its neighbors, said Foreign Affairs Minister Timothy C.T. Yang.
The boys' initial prognosis was not optimistic, said Tsui Kang, spokesman of Wan Fang Hospital. They had both suffered second-to-third degree burns, with one boy, named Fernando, having burns covering 40 percent of his body surface area (BSA) and the other, Aurelio, having a 9 percent BSA.
Fernando underwent two skin-grafting operations, including one that lasted 10 hours, while Aurelio had one operation. Both are now recovering well, Tsui said.
Fernando, who sustained burns when a pot of hot oil and water fell on him after he bumped into his mother in their kitchen, could barely stretch out his arm when he arrived in Taiwan, but his range of motion increased from just 20 degrees to 160 degrees after several skin grafts, Tsui said.
Aurelio sustained burns to the backs of his knees after spilling and igniting an oil container, leaving him unable to bend his knees, Tsui said. He can now stretch his legs straight and also jump on one foot, according to the spokesman.
"When the accident happened I told myself 'this is it' and my son's chances of recovering were slim. I'd never imagine that we would be here in Taiwan with the medical team and the first-class treatment, " Shela comis Lopes, Fernando's mother, told CNA through an interpreter.
The boys are scheduled to fly back to Sao Tome and Principe May 17 with their families.
A third child who was also suffering from severe wounds was scheduled to be brought to Taiwan for treatment as part of the group but died prior to the trip, said Yang, who initiated the mission after learning of the accidents from a friend.
The mission showed that Taiwan had extended its goodwill and friendship to its allies through concrete actions rather than lip service, said Sao Tome and Principe Ambassador to Taiwan Jorge Amado.
"Today's event is the most valuable testimony of 13 years of bilateral friendship between Sao Tome and Principe and Taiwan," Amado said.
The mission was only one part of Taiwan's continuous effort to take advantage of its medical expertise and provide medical relief to countries around the world, Yang said.
Taiwan has used different formats and services in various countries in practicing medical diplomacy, Yang added, noting that Taiwan has overseas-based medical teams as well as touring medical teams to provide medical care for special diseases.
It also helps other countries train medical staff, he said. (By Chris Wang) enditem/ls