2014 THE AM POST: 3rd Issue

甲午年

THE AM POST AM in Taiwan

3rd Issue 2014 August 08

Publisher Yang Han-Hsien Chan Chu-Yi

Editor Yang Sheng Tseng Guan- Wei Chou Tzu-Jung Tien Hsuan-Ning Chen Chia-Ching Lee Nien Jung Ye Rui-Wen Wang Yu-Chiang Peng Jui-Hui Chen Yu -An Hsieh Yi-Ting Liu Chin-Hsuan Chan Shu-Yen Lin Han-Wen

And the Party Begins !!! #nopuke

Photographer Hsu Ting-Jui Lin Yu Ning Tsai Bing-Han Li Chang

Designer Chiang Yu Hsun Huang Yen-Lin Huang Chi-Hsien

*the guy in this picture is not El Salvador [Important Announcement!]

1. Due to yesterday's spewing accident, from now on THE SHUTTLE BUS COMPANY REFUSE TO TAKE DRUNK PEOPLE, so please control your own alcohol consumption! Those who are drunk and puking have to find their own way back!

2. There are still some other guests staying in the Activity Center, so please DO NOT HOLD PARTY IN THE LODGING BUILDING AT NIGHT! If we are protested by other guests, we will not provide accommodation to you!

Social Program

2014.08.08 FRI

Happy Father’s

Daytime Social Program

Calligraphy Flower-and-bird painting

Yu Chiang Wang, Nien Jung Lee, Jui Wen Yeh Sixth of August is the starting day for the daytime social programs.

Dozens of traditional Taiwanese snacks, including candied gourd, bubble tea and rice dumplings are sure to unveil the authentic eating culture of Taiwan. Indigenous postcards and fragrant sachets were also among the attention grabbers.

Chinese calligraphy is the art of writing Han characters. Following the stroke order, every stroke, turn and crochet are all necessary to form the character. The exhibition includes introduction about calligraphy, handwriting service and calligraphy lessons. Handwriting service for names or mottos were the most popular among the delegates. Dozens of delegates took pleasure in writing calligraphy and enjoyed being immersed in the

National Food & Drink Party

Nien Jung Lee, Jui Wen Yeh, Yu Chiang Wang Arguably one of the most exciting and fun-filled events during the GA meeting, the NFDP was a sensational experience that intrigued many taste buds. At 8pm, the evening started lifting off as the delegates from across the globe put food & drink on the table. By 9pm, the event was in full swing with the delegates mingling, dancing, and trying out each other’s delicacies.

The evening rose to a climax when the MCs challenged the delegates to a Feed & Eat contest where the surrounding audiences witnessed just how fast contestants could gobble down the food.

Day! culture while creating memorable works of art.

Located on the other side of the building is another ancient art, flower-and-bird painting.

After 2000 years of development, it has become one of the most developed arts in Chinese culture. Professor Guan-Hui Liao showcased his unique expertise in merging flower-and-bird painting, calligraphy and oil painting into one piece. Sharing his talent with all delegates, his work instantly caught everyone’s eye! More than a hundred pieces were sold in only 4 hours.

If you missed these two fantastic exhibitions, don’t worry! The Calligraphy expo, traditional Chinese medicine, traditional Taiwanese toys and Taiwanese food festival will be open till 10th, Aug. Please check out the bulletin board or OC desk for further information.

Classic Kurdish desert, sweets from Germany and traditional pastries from Iran all left great impression o n e v e r y o n e w h o g a v e a t r y.

Authentic chocolate from Ghana, Switzerland, Finland, Latvia and many other nations satisfied all with a sweet tooth. Vodka from Russia, pear wine mixed with milk from Croatia and coffee from Palestine were equally amazing. Alcoholic beverage of various flavors were served throughout the night.

Aforementioned are just a few of the delicacies we came across.

Amidst the ambient atmosphere of ecstasy, delegates danced to the rhythm of deafening music almost non-stop. The last plateau of the evening was marked by an acrobatic performance that left the audiences yearning for more.

Yang Sheng In Chinese, the pronunciation of the number ‘’8’’ is very similar to the character ‘’ 爸 ’’, which means ‘’father.’’ Therefore, in Taiwan we celebrate our Father’s Day on August eighth (Bābā Holiday).

Why not make a phone call or send a email to your beloved father and share with him this great news?

/ bà /

/ bā /

Dad

eight

爸八 Spotlight:

Taiwan EXPO Having traveled for such a long distance to the island, you must go check out the Taiwan expo to explore Taiwanese traditional culture. Presenting the “Lion and Dragon dance”, glove puppetry and all kinds of Taiwanese folk games, the expo will show you the shared memories of all the residents on the island. Use your bargaining chips wisely!

You will have the chance to challenge the game hosts to be one of the winners of the night and experience memorable Taiwanese culture! Come on out on August 8th at 9 pm and show everyone your talents!

甲午年

Theme event/P.P

A dream to achieve sustainable universal

coverage & healthcare system: Taiwan experience & global view.

Hsieh Yi-Ting, Liu Chin-Hsuan Physician in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of the Nation

One of the highlights of our General Assembly is the conference talk delivered by the three prestigious speakers, focusing on global healthcare trends, Taiwanese healthcare development, and the challenges we face today.

The conference started with TsungMei Cheng, one of the pioneers in establishing the Taiwanese National Health Insurance (NHI). She gave an overview on the different types of healthcare systems, with an emphasis on the single-payer system.

"The single-payer system is the way to go," She said, explaining the advantages of socialized medicine, including its effectiveness and the relatively low cost associated with it.

The Advance of Taiwanese Healthcare “A stable healthcare system requires a stable government with sufficient financial power,” Chin-Chuan Yeh, a former deputy of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, illustrated how

Taiwan achieved astonishing results in medical services delivery within a short time.

The NHI currently covers over 99% of citizens of Taiwan. Back in 1945, Taiwan started developing its basic infrastructure, including clean water supplies, sewer systems, and medical facilities. In 1970, the economy in Taiwan took off. As the government got rich, the public healthcare covered 58% of the citizens. However, the remaining 42% turned out to be the lower class that needed health care the most. The growing economy and stable political situation were the basis for the establishment of NHI that covers 99% of the population today.

Taiwan Has Encountered Some Challenges Although the NHI of Taiwan has been a great success, it has encountered some challenges.

Andrew T. Huang, professor at Duke University, stated that the “fee-

Project Presentation Chou, Tzu-Jung; Tien, Hsuan-Ning; Chen, Chia-Ching From 6:30pm to 8:00pm there was a project presentation held in the Auditorium. A number of delegates on behalf of their NMOs presented projects and activities they had engaged in. The issues, topics and contents were multiple and diverse.

Topics included health care systems, the relationship between climate change and health, strategies about drugs, etc. The methodologies they adopted to resolve problems and achieve their goals were pretty creative. The following texts are two examples.

The Hellenic Medical Students' International Committee (HelMSIC) presented a project called “LSD-

for-service” system has incurred unbridled growth of services. Also, putting an emphasis on treatment instead of prevention undermines the premise of universal healthcare.

Furthermore, while the system struggles to maintain its financial sustainability, the patient-doctor relationship under this system has deteriorated due to the dissatisfaction of the healthcare workforce. Last but not least, the public education on the proper usage of NHI is very limited, which has led to a huge waste of medical resources.

"We have problems but we should all see hope," said prof. Andrew T. Huang at the end of his speech, "The future of medicine is in the hands of present and future generation regardless of geographic locations."

What Can We Do? At the end of the conference, all three speakers encouraged students to think critically and exchange constructive opinions with each other.

"Physician in the nation’s service and in the service of the nation," TsungMei Cheng further praised students' motivation in shaping healthcare systems and urged students to pursue future degrees in public health and attend conferences of this sort.

Learning Strategies about drugs”, which taught medical students the correct approach and examination of an addict. KETHEA, the therapy center for dependent individuals in Greece, aims to help addcits acheive full and sustained abstinence and help them reintegrate into society. The LSD project is a 3 year, 3 stage project in collaboration with KETHEA. Patients take an active participation in the process and are free to leave at any point. The project hopes to eliminate the social stigma caused by drug addiction by raising awareness of drug abuse among medical students and future doctors.

2014.08.08 FRI

Theme event/P.P

Sustainable Development:

From domestic to global view

A

Chan Shu-Yen, Lin Han-Wen s all professors in the session mentioned, our generation is facing an extremely risky and d a n g e r o u s c o n d i t i o n . D r. F a n used many images, such as ozone layer depletion and comparison temperatures of earth surface between 1886 and 2012 to illustrate how badly our mother Earth has been hurt in last few decades.

In addition, he also mentioned three essential working groups on climate change, contributing to IPCC fifth assessment report. The first one focuses on basic physical science. “Impacts, adaptation and vulnerability” is the topic of the second working group, and the last one is mainly about mitigation. As for the relation between climate change and health, it’s stated that climate change affects health by three primary exposure pathways.

For example, floods, storms, and heat may give rise to public health problems. The WHO put more emphasis on strengthening health systems' resilience to climate risks and promoting health while mitigating climate change in the 2014 conference. To sum up, climate change is controlled in our hands, only depending whether we would like to change or not.

As an executive secretary in the EPA, Dr. Chien addressed her speech in a more official aspect. She quoted

statements from the Rio de Janeiro earth summit to cover her whole lecture. “Sustainable development that meets the needs of the present as long as resources are renewed and does not compromise the development of future generations” Moreover, Dr. Chien also answered a student’s question about the impact of sandstorms traveling to Taiwan from China, which cause many people in Taiwan to wear masks when going outside.

N e x t , w e h a d D r. H s i e h , Y i n g Shih talk to us about sustainability from the NGO point of view. As the president of one of Taiwan’s oldest ENGO, the Environmental Quality Protection Foundation ( E Q P F ) , D r. H s i e h s h a r e d w i t h us the three major topics of the EQPF -- environmental education, tree planting and international participation. Also, he mentioned the harsh conditions ENGOs face in Taiwan, “We would like to present

A project from Ecuador aims to help medical students face the reality in rural areas. Just like here in Taiwan, the indigenous people there encounter difficulties and discrimination in daily life. The locals' lack of resources and medical knowledge result in doctors’ poor attitude towards them. Through this project, medical students will gain a holistic view of the situation. As long

Project Presentation as they are involved, they will have their own perception and work on to alter the circumstance. Building the link between communities and medical departments, smoothing the relationship between patients

the issue in an unconventional way”, said Dr. Hsieh. Like any other kind of social movement, it is important to bring new momentum to the environmental movement.

Therefore, the EQPF tried to combine the environmental issue with our everyday lives by holding public activities. After all, we should never underestimate the magic of public participation.

Finally, in contrast to the other speakers, Dr. Niven Huang put more emphasis on the ability and vision one has to possess to become a future leader. First, he pointed out that societies all over the world face many risks. The risks come from various aspects, including social and environmental challenges.

Also, according to estimations, there will be 9 billion people living on the planet by the year 2050. By that time, we would need an extra ”1.3 earths” to meet the needs of everyone. That’s why Dr. Niven Huang repeatedly emphasized that our generation is pushed to think about how to create a better future for all of us–a sustainable future.

Just remember the vision of 2050 and take action by 2020, and that’s how you realize the sustainability in your career! After all, it requires everyone's participation and contribution to make the world a sustainable place!

and doctor are definitely top issues here in Taiwan as well.

The obstacles and difficulties they confronted were tough and challenging, yet the participants showed their determination and enthusiasm to solve these predicaments. Everyone at the presentation was touched and impressed by the fascinating and amazing project presentations.