Taiwan's health-care system and administration are independent of China

Abstract

I am writing on behalf of the Taipei Representative Office in the UK to express a grave concern over the incorrect designation of Taiwan as a province of China in the Article about mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces.1Zhou M Wang H Zeng X et al.Mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990-2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.Lancet. 2019; (published online June 24.)https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30427-1Summary Full Text Full Text PDF Scopus (1641) Google Scholar We have received several letters of concern and dismay from Taiwanese readers, medical professionals, and academics about this report. The designation Taiwan, province of China, is erroneous and misleading because Taiwan has never been a part of China. Taiwan is a sovereign democratic country with a democratically elected president and parliament and its own health-care system. Unlike China, Taiwan's national health insurance system is world-renowned, ranking 14th in the 2017 Global Access to Healthcare Index2Chipman A Global access to healthcare index: building sustainable health systems. The Economist Intelligence Unit, London2017Google Scholar and ninth in the 2018 Health Care Efficiency Index.3Miller LJ Lu W These are the economies with the most (and least) efficient health care.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2018-09-19/u-s-near-bottom-of-health-index-hong-kong-and-singapore-at-topDate: Sept 19, 2018Date accessed: July 9, 2019Google Scholar Taiwan's advances in digital health care have also contributed to global disease prevention and universal health coverage. Depicting Taiwan as part of China is not only inaccurate but also contrary to the UK Government's longstanding policy to refer to Taiwan as simply Taiwan, which the Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the Foreign Commonwealth Office (FCO) publicly stated on July 10, 2018.4Field M China: multinational companies. Written question - 159672.https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-07-02/159672/Date: July 10, 2018Date accessed: July 9, 2019Google Scholar Taiwain, as a designation, is used across all government departments and agencies, on UK Government websites, and in the FCO's territory register. The decision to include Taiwan as a Chinese province is therefore neither based on fact nor in line with the UK's policy and practice. Other international scientific journals, including Science and Cell, simply use the designation Taiwan. We therefore sincerely urge the authors to remove Taiwan from the analysis. I am Deputy Representative at the Taipei Representative Office in the UK. Mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017China has made substantial progress in reducing the burden of many diseases and disabilities. Strategies targeting chronic diseases, particularly in the elderly, should be prioritised in the expanding Chinese health-care system. Full-Text PDF Open AccessTaiwan's health-care system and administration are independent of ChinaAs the Taiwan Minister of Health and Welfare, I am writing to make a formal protest against the erroneous designation of Taiwan as a province of China in the systematic analysis of mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, 1990–2017 for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017.1 Full-Text PDF Taiwan's health-care system and administration are independent of ChinaZhou and colleagues1 compare mortality, morbidity, and risk factors in China and its provinces, between 1990 and 2017. Data from the Global Health Data Exchange clearly showed Taiwan and China are two distinguished countries. Including Taiwan in the analyses makes this Article misleading, biased, and flawed. Full-Text PDF Taiwan's health-care system and administration are independent of China – Authors' replyWe investigated the levels and trends of disease burden at the province level in China between 1990 and 2017.1 This Article is the result of not only the collaboration with researchers in China but also the collaboration of more than 3400 collaborators within the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) network. The estimation of provincial level burden of disease in China is an integral part of the entire GBD enterprise that provides comprehensive and comparative assessment of the state of population health for all nations and subnational units for selected nations. Full-Text PDF Taiwan's health-care system and administration are independent of ChinaZhou and colleagues1 show that China and its provinces have made some efforts in reducing the burden of many diseases. We regret to see that Taiwan and its health-care system are not considered independent from China. Full-Text PDF