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| Beijing regrets Taipei's refusal of medical aid |
| CCTV.COM 2003-05-29 09:05:33 |
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 China's mainland has expressed regret over Taiwan's refusal to accept its offer of medical aid to help combat SARS. The Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council has urged the Taiwan authorities to abandon their political bias and join forces with the mainland to fight against the common threat of SARS.
In response to a handful of politically motivated separatists' unfounded allegations in respect of the mainland's donation, the spokesman from the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council read letters between the Beijing－based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits, and its Taiwan counterpart, the Straits Exchange Foundation. He said no one can read any ill intention from the mainland in these letters. But the Taiwan authority failed to respond graciously to the mainland's goodwill.
"Chinese mainland people are deeply concerned for our Taiwan compatriots. So we are very disappointed that the Taiwan authorities rudely turned down our medical support, for political reasons. In the face of a natural disaster like this, the caring of compatriots across straits should not be obstructed by political forces," said Li Weiyi, spokesman of Taiwan Affairs Office of State Council.
Since the outbreak of SARS in China, informal contacts between the mainland and Taiwan have never ceased. Four symposia attended by medical experts from the mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan have been held in the past couple of months. Such meetings provided platforms for vital exchanges between researchers and frontline health－care workers, and helped identify SARS preventative and treatment measures.
Frequent donations and financial support have also been exchanged between the mainland and the Taiwan island and Taiwan merchants in the mainland have tried through various ways to help minimize China's losses brought about by SARS.
"In Beijing alone, these merchants donated anti－SARS materials and commodities worth 6 million yuan, or about 700,000 US dollars. All this indicates that the care and love between the compatriots across the straits is open and sincere. Any deliberate disturbance of this compassion goes against the fundamental humanity of people," said Li Weiyi.
The spokesman accused the Taiwan authorities of politicizing the issue at the expense of the health and well－being of citizens. He said the health and lives of compatriots on both sides of the straits ought to come before the interests of any political parties.
Despite the Taiwan authorities' obstruction, he noted the mainland is encouraging and welcoming Taiwan scholars and researchers to get involved in the mainland's anti－SARS program. At the same time, the mainland has selected an expert group, which is ready to help at any time with Taiwan's battle against SARS.
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Editor: Han Ling CCTV.com
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