More on global health

Thank you for publishing our letter China objects (The Jakarta Post, April 21). However, two important paragraphs were deleted which we would like to appear in the paper. The two paragraphs are as follows:

"The Taiwan authorities, on one hand, refuse to cooperate with the mainland on the issue of SARS, while on the other, they unfoundedly accuse the Chinese government for concealing the state of SARS. They are also making this matter an excuse for Taiwan's attempt to edge into the World Health Organization (WHO).

The WHO is a UN specialized agency and only sovereign states are eligible for its membership. The government of the People's Republic of China is the sole legitimate representative of the whole of China to the WHO. As a region of China, Taiwan has no qualification whatsoever to participate in the international organizations that are only confined to sovereign states. Clearly, any attempt in this regard is unwise and will not succeed."

MA JISHENG, Counselor for Political Affairs, Chinese Embassy, Jakarta