Gao said that blaming others would not help to curb the spread of SARS in Taiwan.

Gao said he had noticed some people in Taiwan saying "the mainland was responsible for SARS spreading in Taiwan," but this was irresponsible.

The first official report of SARS on the Chinese mainland was on Feb. 11, while the first reported case in Taiwan was on Mar. 15.

"More than one month passed during the interval. Are Taiwan's information agencies not working properly? How can they say the mainland should be responsible for SARS spreading in Taiwan?" said Gao.

"The central government and the mainland people are very concerned about the SARS outbreak in Taiwan since we are both Chinese and are the common descendants of the same ancestors," Gao said. "We are concerned for SARS patients whether they are on the Chinese mainland or in Taiwan."

In order to strengthen exchanges and cooperation across the Taiwan Straits, a symposium had been held in Beijing for medical experts to exchange experience, and teleconferences had been held between the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

The central government agreed that the World Health Organization could send experts to Taiwan to inspect and guide their work, he said.

Gao said the Chinese mainland had sent protective materials, such as gloves, masks and shoe-covers to Taiwan and it was preparing to send a team of the most experienced and best medical experts to Taiwan soon.

All these actions showed that the central government was very concerned about the Taiwan people, said Gao.

He said the Chinese mainland hoped the Taiwan authorities would strengthen exchanges and cooperation for the well-being and health of the Taiwan compatriots.

(Xinhua News Agency May 31, 2003)