Editorial: Geographical diversity, culture and bioethics
- Darryl Macer
E-mail: asianbioethics@yahoo.co.nz
Eubios Journal of Asian and International Bioethics 13 (2003), 1.
This issue of EJAIB, number 49, starts with publication of a response
from the IAB Executive to the letter published in the last issue to the IAB
Board from ABA. There is a brief response from ABA President that follows. There was
also publication of my article with IAB membership and congress participant
trends in the IAB Newsletter
(December, 2002; No. 14, pp. 15-20; http://www.bioethics-international.org/iabnews-dec02.html).
It examines the geographical imbalances of the IAB Board in terms of world
population and culture, which raises questions of democracy in IAB and ABA.
Actually the ABA has direct elections for all positions in the Board, including
President. The IAB Executive is elected only from members of the IAB Board (a
politburo in a sense), and not from the general membership. Although the ABA
Board wrote to the IAB Board the IAB Executive did not ask Board members for comments
on the letter. It is very unfortunate that the sneered comments against China
and India in item 4 of the IAB Executive letter come from an Executive that is
elected not from open democratic election of all members but from political
wrangling inside the Board, which seems to me to be less democratic then the
ABA.
However the real issues was really
whether the concerns of Asian IAB members should be sweep under the carpet, and
the messengers to the IAB Board like myself and Frank Leavitt the victims of
incorrect slander inside the IAB Board Emails, when we pointed out that these
were the concerns of IAB members in Asia. There were also smears against the
standard of bioethicists in Asia, which are the type of thing that leads to
Westerners launching wars against the "uncultured persons of Asia" as
we are likely to see soon again.
When the voting forms come to IAB
members in Asia please look at the positions that the candidates stand for, and
think about what sort of IAB you want. Unlike the views of some IAB Board
members, there are many worthy candidates from Asia, but people who value
geographical, cultural and religious diversity should vote accordingly.
Thanks for the contributors to EJAIB in this issue, and to those who
have paid their dues for 2003 for EJAIB (which is inside the ABA membership). Please see
details of payment at the end of this issue. Look forward to seeing many
readers at TRT8, please check the web site for the latest news of the dates,
venues and lectures.
Postscript of Editorial
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