歷史性里程碑 - 打通台灣美容醫療觀光最後一哩路
Historic Milestone – Breaking Through the Last Mile in Taiwan's Medical Beauty Tourism
Note: The translation is based on the personal Facebook post of Dr. Tsao Su-Ben.
Yesterday evening, the Mayor of Kaohsiung, in collaboration with representatives from industry and academia, made a public appeal to "promote medical beauty tourism and stimulate Kaohsiung's economy." In the mission to "endure humiliation, carry the burden, and meet the target," the Mayor, with a convincing and steady demeanor, reluctantly agreed to promote and issue policy directives, designating the Kaohsiung Tourism Bureau to take charge. The last mile of promoting Taiwan's medical beauty tourism has finally been historically cleared!
The promotion of medical beauty tourism in Taiwan began in 2007 when the Southern Office of the Executive Yuan and the Kaohsiung City Government jointly initiated the establishment of the "Kaohsiung Medical Beauty Tourism Promotion Association." However, being a private organization, concerns arose among international cosmetic seekers about the lack of official credibility and endorsement. This led to initial difficulties and obstacles in the promotion process.
Fortunately, driven by a sense of mission that "faith in justice will bring justice," we persevered through numerous obstacles. With the strong assistance of legislator Lin Tai-Hua, who strongly endorsed the concept of promoting medical beauty tourism, we successfully navigated through the legislative, health, and executive branches, gradually overcoming challenges such as:
1. Persuading the Ministry of Health and Welfare to take on the role of the central government's main responsible agency (avoiding interdepartmental disputes).
2. Establishing a dedicated task force for promoting medical beauty tourism (leveraging existing international medical standards and strength).
3. Promoting quality certification for medical beauty institutions and subsequent clinics (selecting government-endorsed high-quality facilities for the safety and security of foreign seekers).
4. Issuing an administrative order allowing the use of simplified Chinese characters for legal international marketing of medical tourism, overcoming the significant obstacle of amending Taiwan's medical advertising regulations.
5. Facilitating the selection of Kaohsiung by the central government as the pilot city for medical beauty tourism (with potential expansion to other municipalities if successful).
However, previous mayors of Kaohsiung, regardless of political affiliation, showed no interest in advancing this initiative. There was a misunderstanding (intentional or not) that international healthcare equated to medical tourism. Various departments also passed the buck, resulting in the policy being unable to break through its final obstacle.
It wasn't until the recent appointment of a new physician mayor in Kaohsiung that we saw a glimmer of hope and anticipation for another round of efforts.
Yesterday, the newly appointed chairman of the Kaohsiung Medical Beauty Tourism Promotion Association, in collaboration with representatives from the Taiwan Society of Aesthetic Plastic Surgery (Secretary-General and former chairman, who consistently included medical tourism in their policies), led key figures from the medical and tourism sectors to meet and appeal to the new physician mayor. Finally, after a hard-fought battle, a historic milestone has been achieved!
Those who sow in tears will reap with shouts of joy. As the saying goes, "Heaven rewards diligence, and may Taiwan be blessed."
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