In light of a report made by a certain media stating that the Japanese government failed to timely report the identification of confirmed influenza A(H1N1) cases and blaming the Japanese government for causing a potential “gap” in disease control, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) makes the following statement:

The onboard quarantine measures and other disease control efforts implemented by the Japanese government that led to the prompt discovery of confirmed cases of influenza A(H1N1) have helped Taiwan and the neighboring countries tremendously in terms of preventing international spread of influenza A (H1N1), which Taiwan appreciates and has been very grateful toward.When in a situation like this, government agencies are all under a great deal of pressure and time constraints. Further, the way the Japanese government has handled the confirmed influenza A (H1N1) cases is beyond the scope of public health practices deemed appropriate by the World Health Organization (WHO).Therefore, countries around the world should work together to contribute to global disease prevention instead of pointing fingers at one another.

The commanding officer of CECC, Minister of Health Yeh, has instructed an investigation into the news report and stressed that if any individual, group or media makes public statements criticizing a foreign government without confirming the source of the information and the consent of the government, thus sabotaging international collaboration, will be subject to legal liability.