In 1996, when "the 23rd World Congress of Internal Medicine" was held in Manila of Philippines, it was suggested by the then president of the society, Prof. Yuan-Teh Lee and Prof. Teh-Hong Wang, and the then secretary gneral Prof. Ming-Feng Chen; as well as many of our international acquaintances that the society joining the World Congress of Internal Medicine with the name "Society of Internal Medicine of Taiwan", and the bid successfully turned Taiwan into the 46th member country of the International Society of Internal Medicine.

Since then, the society has taken part in the World Congress of Internal Medicine held in Lima of Peru (1998), in Cancun of Mexico (2000), in Kyoto of Japan (2002), and in Granada of Spain (2004). Moreover, many of the doctors from the society have won special honors that include "the Outstanding Paper Award for Young Doctors" in Japan, as well as the Outstanding Poster Award in Spain, which earned critical acclaim for themselves and Taiwan at the same time.

In 1998, when the 24th World Congress of Internal Medicine was held in Lima of Peru, the Society of Internal Medicine of Taiwan first expressed its intent on holding the World Congress of Internal Medicine. In the board meeting of World Congress of Internal Medicine held in Cancun of Mexico in 2000, Taiwan was officially included into the list considered for the host country of 2006. The society's solid reputation, abundant enthusiasm, and vigorous ambition was recognized by the International Society of Internal Medicine and won Taiwan the right to host "the 28th World Congress of Internal Medicine" in 2006. This was the first time Taiwan successfully bid for an international medical convention that is the largest in scale, and a hard-earned opportunity.

In "the 28th World Congress of Internal Medicine", "the Committee of Programs" has spent much time planning for programs that are filled with novelty and rich in vigor, while making sure the programs are educational and practical at the same time. Moreover, many medical experts from Asia, Europe, and America are invited to participate this event, it is hoped that the move can help attract more international guests to the event, and so making the conference a true global convention. All of the special speeches and seminars given at this convention have been carefully assessed and catered to the "special interests of the participants", and "the speeches and seminars" are hosted by the over a hundred top-class scholars around the world. The scholars will share their academic achievements and clinical experiences with their audiences, while more information about the application of internal medicine will be revealed in the seminars and exhibitions, and this echoes the main theme of this conference, which is "Internal Medicine in the Information Technology Era". Topics like evidence-based medicine (EBM) contest and objective structured clinical examination (OSCE) are also included in this conference to make it more interesting and easier to absorb.

It is our belief that by providing an international platform to help facilitate the learning and exchanges of the latest medical knowledge, the guests around the world can not only come together for serious academic discussions, but also witness the advances in Taiwan's medical environment and the achievements resulting from our hard work. It is hoped that this can help elevate Taiwan's academic status within the World Congress of Internal Medicine, while also allowing the guests to bear witness to the prosperity of Taiwan, enjoy its abundant natural beauty, feel the unique optimism and friendliness of the people of Taiwan, as well as savor Taiwan's world famous gourmet food. The ability of successfully providing these unique Taiwan experiences to guests is yet another major challenge to the society, but also a great honor as well.

Over the past nineteen years, the society has diligently integrated a completely digitized office, human resources, and other businesses together to achieve better effects, while also keeps satisfactory progress for the affairs of the organization, as a result, the Society of
Internal Medicine of Taiwan has performed outstandingly in the assessments of more than 6,100 social groups in Taiwan. It was awarded the top honor in "the Performance Evaluation of Domestic Social and Occupational Organizations" carried out by the Ministry of the Interior in consecutive years.

In planning for the future, the society hopes to attain even higher achievements; it not only aims to further improve the medical education for doctors of internal medicine and raise the quality of internal medicine, but also encourages exchanges with international academic institutions. Furthermore, the society will fulfill the responsibilities and obligations of being the member of "International Society of Internal Medicine (ISIM)", and strive to make our medical groups do better in both quality and performance.