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**Treyfish** · April 13, 2020, 08:45 PM

The facts regarding Taiwan’s email to alert WHO to possible danger of COVID-19

In response to WHO’s denial that Taiwan ever alerted it to the possibility of human-to-human transmission of COVID-19, the Central Epidemic Command Center makes the following statement today, April 11:

The Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (Taiwan CDC) learned from online sources that there had been at least seven cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China. In China, the term “atypical pneumonia” is commonly used to refer to SARS, a disease transmitted between humans caused by coronavirus.
Owing to its experience with the SARS epidemic in 2003, Taiwan vigilantly kept track of information about the new outbreak. On December 31, 2019, Taiwan sent an email to the International Health Regulations (IHR) focal point under the World Health Organization (WHO), informing WHO of its understanding of the disease and also requesting further information from WHO. Given the lack of clarity at the time, as well as the many rumors that were circulating, Taiwan’s aim was to ensure that all relevant parties remained alert, especially since the outbreak occurred just before the Lunar New Year holiday, which typically sees tremendous amounts of travel.
To be prudent, in the email we took pains to refer to atypical pneumonia, and specifically noted that patients had been isolated for treatment. Public health professionals could discern from this wording that there was a real possibility of human-to-human transmission of the disease. However, because at the time there were as yet no cases of the disease in Taiwan, we could not state directly and conclusively that there had been human-to-human transmission.
The Tai.... https://www.cdc.gov.tw/Category/List...HeN_bLa-viBOuw

**Treyfish** · April 13, 2020, 08:46 PM

https://flutrackers.com/forum/forum/...ission-warning

**sharon sanders** · April 14, 2020, 10:43 AM

Here is our original thread:

China - Original 2019-nCov news thread: weeks 1 - 4 (December 30, 2019 - January 25, 2020)

**sharon sanders** · April 14, 2020, 11:04 AM

A complaint -

John Scott
@DiddlySquat51
?
10m

Was there another email? because struggling to see the warning in the Taiwanese email to be honest. As at the same time on the 31st, the Wuhan government notified the WHO and placed a notice on its municipal health site website of notifiying 27 cases of unknown pneumonia.

1
FluTrackers.com
@FluTrackers
?
3m

Your fight is not with us. We are reporting what Taiwan has said. But don't worry, this will all be settled in an International Court. Probably one for crimes against humanity.

**Treyfish** · April 14, 2020, 12:37 PM

Responding to the accusations, the WHO said it needed to “hold frank and open discussions on sometimes sensitive issues” which “requires that we respect the confidentiality of such communications.”

https://www.nationalreview.com/news/...-transmission/

**Treyfish** · April 14, 2020, 12:42 PM

Taiwan wrote to the WHO to request more information about the disease’s potential to pass between humans. They say that the WHO acknowledged receipt of the letter, but did not otherwise respond or share it with WHO member states.

Taiwan took action anyway. Before nightfall on December 31, the country decided to begin health inspections for all passengers arriving on flights from Wuhan. Two weeks later—amid continued reassurances from Chinese and WHO officials that there was no need for alarm—Taiwan dispatched two of its health experts to the city in Hubei province, where they found significant likelihood that the coronavirus was capable of human-to-human transmission. This virus, they reported on January 16, could be far more dangerous than initially assumed, noting that Wuhan’s local doctors were taking the disease very seriously as well.
https://www.thenation.com/article/wo...navirus-china/

**Treyfish** · April 14, 2020, 12:45 PM

Virus Outbreak: Taiwan warned WHO, China on virus last year

TWEET CONFIRMED: The US’ Morgan Ortagus backed up Taiwan, saying China only admitted that human-to-human transmission was possible as late as Jan. 20

By Lin Chia-nan / Staff reporter
- Taiwan warned the WHO and China about possible human-to-human transmission of the new coronavirus at the end of last year, but the global health body did not make it public, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

Department of International Organizations Director-General Bob Chen (陳龍錦) made the remark at a news briefing in Taipei, when asked about statements made by US Department of State spokeswoman Morgan Ortagus.

“Dec. 31— that’s the same day Taiwan first tried to warn WHO of human-human transmission. Chinese authorities meanwhile silenced doctors and refused to admit human-human transmission until Jan. 20, with catastrophic consequences,” Ortagus wrote on Twitter yesterday.
https://www.taipeitimes.com/News/fro.../25/2003733321

**JJackson** · April 14, 2020, 03:14 PM

I am confused as to why Taiwan was trying to communicate with the WHO via the IHR as it not a recognized country, the WHO can only deal with China. I have not seen this e-mail but it seems to be based on some internet rumors on the 31st Dec. when China was already investigating an outbreak of pneumonia of unknown source in Wuhan. How Taiwan, or anybody else, could know the method of transmission at that point is a mystery and the WHO can not jump into action just because some non-state actor has seen some internet rumors. Where is the story here?

**JJackson** · April 16, 2020, 01:47 PM

This came up in the WHO press briefing

SH Okay. Dr Tedros, the US Department of State says early information from Taiwan on
isolation treatment in Wuhan was withheld from the global community by WHO and they
also criticised the WHO for choosing politics over global health. How do you respond to such
criticism? Thank you.
00:16:58
TJ The line was not the best but I think the question was about Taiwan and isolating
Taiwan.
MR Maybe I could just clarify the technical. Maybe Steve or... want to take up the issue
on working with Taiwan. The specific issue of reports; there were multiple sources of reports
on 31st December regarding a cluster of cases of atypical pneumonia in Wuhan, China. In fact
they emanated from a press release or a publication on the website of the Wuhan Health
Authority and it was from that publication that many agencies - including our own epidemic
intelligence from open sources and I believe FROMED [PROMED], I believe others picked up on that.
There was a flurry of communications between various agencies to verify that signal. It was
WHO then who moved to formally verify that signal through our country office with the
Government authorities in China.
TJ Just to introduce, we have our colleague, Steve Solomon, Principal Legal Officer,
who will also add something on this topic.
SS Thank you, Tarik. Let me address this larger issue of the question that was just asked.
I'd like to do so in two parts; by addressing on the one hand WHO's technical health mandate
and on the other hand WHO's status as an international organisation composed of countries.
00:18:35
On the one hand there is WHO's staff; the doctors, the scientists, the researchers, among
many others. They focus on technical and operational public health work. On the other hand
there are the countries; that is the member states. The member states decide on the political
issues like membership, like observership and they, these 194 member states of the World
Health Organization, set the policies of the organisation.
In that connection, the policies of the organisation, it's important to understand that WHO is
very much part of the United Nations. In 1971 the countries of the United Nations decided to
recognise the People's Republic of China as the only legitimate representative of China. One
year later in 1972 the member states of the World Health Organization decided in resolution
25.1 to do the same thing and this has been the official position of the United Nations since
1971.

**Treyfish** · April 18, 2020, 12:17 PM

WHO official website "Taiwan" was disappeared, Taiwan public health experts questioned political manipulation

Today, 01:17 PM
WHO official website "Taiwan" was disappeared, Taiwan public health experts questioned political manipulation

2020-04-18The Wuhan pneumonia epidemic is global, and the WHO has isolated Taiwan and the world is obvious to all. According to a report by Taiwan ’s Central News Agency on Saturday (April 18), Taiwan ’s public security expert Zhan Changquan recently discovered that the word “Taiwan” was “disappeared” on the WHO official website, questioning the WHO ’s political manipulation.

Zhan Changquan told the WebMD reporter on Saturday that whenever the World Health Organization (WHO) holds a press conference, the content and highlights of the news released on the day will be published on the website. WHO officials recently mentioned Taiwan in the press conference, but searched for Taiwan on the WHO official website. However, there is no information about the recent press conference, only the relevant information about the outbreak of SARS in 2003.

Zhan Changquan said that in the past, WHO used Taiwan (China), ChineseTaipei (Chinese Taipei) and other names when dealing with text rela...

https://www.rfa.org/mandarin/Xinwen/...020113208.html

Announcement

Taiwan releases December email to WHO showing unheeded warning about coronavirus

Taiwan releases December email to WHO showing unheeded warning about coronavirus

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