Out of sight, out of mind

Duke of Edinburgh participants doing track maintenance as part of their service to the community.

Photo supplied

The Duke of Edinburgh’s Hillary Award will see the launching of a new initia tive this week in response to the challenge to better care for the environment.

Young New Zealanders can now do any level of the award –bronze, silver or gold – with an environmental and sustainable focus – their Kakariki Journey. It will see them doing beach cleanups, predator trapping, learning beekeeping, upcycling and more. The ward is made up of four sections that participants need to complete – voluntary service, skills, physical recreation and adventurous journey.

The activity requirements for participants who opt to do the Kakariki Journey remain the same; the difference is that their voluntary service and skills sec tions must have an environmental focus.

National director Karen Ross says this initiative has come about because we asked our participants what they really cared about.

Climate change and protecting our environment were top of the list.

“Last September saw over 100,000 young New Zealanders take to the streets to march for cli mate change. The addition of a climate change curriculum for Year 7 – 10 students this year shows the importance that future gen erations are educated in this area,” says Karen.

“We already have many par ticipants focusing on the environment. Gold award participant Sorcha Carr helped plan the School Strike for Climate for her Award Voluntary Service. The Kakariki Journey formally will rec ognise young New Zealander’s efforts in the environmental field. “Now, more than ever before, it’s crucial that we care for our planet. Evidence of nature in crisis is all around us. Through offering the Kakariki Journey, our aim is to equip all young New Zealanders with the skills and experience to play an important role in protect ing Aotearoa.” HILLARY AWARD Award focuses on environment

Exclusion of Taiwan from WHO creates dangerous loopholes

To fight the epidemic we cannot afford to have Taiwan left out again.

In November 2002, the outbreak of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), originating in southern China, recorded 8098 cases and claimed 774 lives worldwide, including 73 deaths in Taiwan, the third highest toll next to mainland China and Hong Kong.

When SARS broke out, due to international politics involving China, Taiwan was deprived of direct access to firsthand medical information and got no medical assistance from the World Health Organization (WHO). Taiwan had to fight the disease alone.

It is fair to say that if WHO had have been put politics aside in face of the threat of SARS, many Taiwanese could have been saved. Needless to say, when WHO chose to leave Taiwan out of the global network, it created a loophole in containing the spread of virus and posed a grave threat to the health for all.

Taiwan is located at a strategic node as well as a flight hub where northeast Asia meets Southeast Asia. As people and goods are constantly entering and leaving Taiwan. Before the outbreak of coronavirus, there are nearly 600 direct flights per week between Taiwan and China. Even though Taiwan adopted all necessary precautions at the onset of the outbreak of coronavirus, there are still 18 recorded cases. When people are now reflecting on what lessons we can learn from the previous SARS tragedy, to redress the mistake of putting Taiwan on the sidelines should be one of them.

Some may argue that Taiwan has been represented by China in WHO.

However, the simple reality is that Taiwan is never part of the PRC. Taiwan is not under China’s jurisdiction. Taiwan’s health and China’s are administered by separate and independent authorities. Diseases do not discriminate, nor do they know national boundaries. Coronavirus, SARS and measles are just few of the many vivid examples.

If the motto of the WHO is “health for all” and “leaving no one behind,” I regret to point out that the 23m Taiwanese people are certainly not treated that way.

It is undeniable that the exclusion of Taiwan from WHO creates dangerous loopholes in global disease prevention system. To combat the coronavirus epidemic (COVID-19), we cannot afford to leave Taiwan left out again. Jeff Liu, director general of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office

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