Taiwan has been receiving much praise in the international health community for its handling of Covid-19.  Minister of foreign affairs Republic of China (Taiwan), Joseph Jaushieh Wu, spoke with Rudroneel Ghosh about his government’s handling of the pandemic:

 What is the COVID-19 situation in Taiwan today?

After reading the report that many people mysteriously developed atypical pneumonia in Wuhan late last year and considering the close interaction between the peoples of Taiwan and China, our government immediately went on high alert and made advanced preparations to fight the disease. Thanks to the concerted efforts of the people of Taiwan to grapple with the COVID-19 outbreak, we have kept our confirmed cases to under 500, about 90 percent of which are imported. This demonstrates that we are effectively controlling the epidemic.

The international community has praised the success of our epidemic prevention and control measures. As the fight against this disease requires a protracted effort, Taiwan cannot let down its guard. In recent days, we have continued to adopt measures to help contain the spread of the outbreak, such as requiring people to wear face masks while taking public transportation and promoting social distancing.

 How has Taiwan managed to keep infections down despite being in geographic proximity to Wuhan where the Coronavirus was first reported?

As Taiwan and China are geographically very close to each other, researchers abroad predicted that Taiwan would be the most severely affected country after China. However, the lessons learned from the 2003 SARS outbreak and our exclusion from the World Health Organization due to China’s oppression have made us particularly vigilant. On December 31, our airports started screening the health of passengers from Wuhan. This January, when the nature of the outbreak was still unclear, we directed relevant government agencies to take proactive measures to fully prevent and combat the outbreak. On January 20, we established the Central Epidemic Command Center to help coordinate all preventive efforts. At the same time, we have set up a national face mask production team and adopted big data and our technical knowhow to further buttress the preventive efforts. We have even created an app providing an interactive map to check where face masks are available. Most importantly, our government has adopted a policy of openness and transparency, providing daily updates on epidemic developments, and working with all the people of Taiwan to beat the pandemic.

The spread of COVID-19 throughout the world once again bears testimony to the fact that disease knows no borders and that no gap in the global health network can be allowed. Standing on the frontline, we will continue to do our utmost to fulfill our responsibility to help tackle this epidemic. Likewise, we are capable and willing to cooperate with India, the United States, and other friendly countries to overcome this crisis, thereby substantially contributing to the international community. To this end, on March 18, Taiwan and the United States issued a joint statement on the formation of a bilateral partnership to combat COVID-19. We have donated over 17 million face masks to countries in need, supporting front-line medical professionals around the world. 1.6 million masks are donated to our New Southbound Policy partners, including India.

 Could you elaborate on Taiwan’s home quarantine monitoring and contact tracing systems?

The Central Epidemic Command Center has adopted a whole-of-government approach in its coordination work. The government also adopted AI and other technologies in its epidemic prevention and tracking system for a complete home quarantine management network. For instance, incoming travelers — both Taiwan nationals and foreigners — are required to fill out a health declaration, in writing or by scanning a QR Code to fill it out digitally. After passengers enter the country, their information is instantly processed and uploaded to the home quarantine care system and the electronic fence system. On top of this, their cell phone positioning systems are constantly monitored. Should a person in quarantine leave the perimeter, warning messages will be sent to the individual, local health officials, and local police officers so the person’s whereabouts can be confirmed.

 How is Taiwan dealing with the economic fallout of the pandemic?

In addition to ravaging the people of the world, COVID-19 is wreaking havoc on the global economy. On February 25, our government passed the Special Act on COVID-19 Prevention, Relief and Restoration, allocating a special budget to respond to the difficulties facing small and medium businesses and better ensure the stable development of our economy.

During the pandemic, our government is obligated to not only assist the people, but also revitalise the economy. Based on the aforementioned act, the Ministry of Economic Affairs, Ministry of Transportation and Communications, and other pertinent agencies have set in motion revitalisation measures. These have made available personal and commercial low-interest loans, skill-building training programs, industrial upgrading and transformation incentives, expanded digital access, and diversified business opportunities. The measures aim to stabilise domestic markets, build up public confidence, and get everyone through these challenging times.

 Has Taiwan faced any difficulties in tackling the pandemic given it can’t freely participate in WHO deliberations?

Disease knows no borders, nor does it discriminate based on nationality. As a multilateral international organisation for securing the health of all the world’s people, the WHO ought to abide by the principles of professionalism and neutrality, and protect the right to health of all people, including the 23 million people of Taiwan. And yet regrettably, since 2017 WHO has continually caved in to China’s unreasonable interference and discontinued its practice of issuing invitations to Taiwan to attend the World Health Assembly as an observer. Between 2009 and 2019, Taiwan applied to attend 187 WHO technical meetings that we are aware of, but was accepted to only 57; we were rejected 70 percent of the time. These large-scale restrictions prevent Taiwan from obtaining the latest medical information in a timely fashion, and deny us the opportunity to connect with experts from around the globe to share experiences.

COVID-19 is a brand new viral disease fraught with unknowns. Therefore, the exchange of up-to-the-minute information is of critical importance for effective epidemic prevention and mitigation. For example, Taiwan’s CDC officials have continued to report immediately to WHO IHR focal point in line with the International Health Regulations, concerning information of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan. However, the WHO focal point only replied “Message received. Will transmit to related experts.” It has yet to provide concrete responses or suggestions. In truth, it is only the Taiwan side providing information. WHO has also never made the Taiwan IHR focal point contact information public on the IHR website. As a result, other nations’ IHR focal points are unable to quickly communicate with Taiwan when the need arises. Moreover, this January, WHO held three IHR Emergency Committee Meetings to address the COVID-19 outbreak. Taiwan was not invited to attend any of them. On February 11 and 12, WHO hosted the Global Research and Innovation Forum, to which it only allowed our experts to attend in a personal capacity online. This meant that they were deprived of the opportunity to communicate directly or interact with the representatives of other nations to share our experience fighting this disease. We were also denied the opportunity to cooperate with donors on developing a vaccine and medicines for this disease.

Following our experience with SARS in 2003, we established stronger disease prevention mechanisms. Combined with our advanced preparation, we have seen good results from our disease prevention efforts. However, the situation remains dynamic, and being unable to participate in WHO seriously affects Taiwan’s ability to obtain complete and timely information on the virus and on epidemic prevention. This has put us in the unhappy position of being a potential gap in the global health and disease prevention network. WHO should recognize the seriousness of the situation and allow Taiwan’s full participation as soon as possible.

 How can Taiwan help the world fight the pandemic?

Taiwan stands on the frontline of global epidemic prevention efforts. The government is doing its utmost to ensure that domestic needs are met and that our nationals abroad are cared for. Taiwan is willing and able to assist in global epidemic prevention work as resources allow. Whether through bilateral or multilateral frameworks, Taiwan will be happy to collaborate with the international community to fight COVID-19, thus demonstrating to the world Taiwan’s positive role.

Since the outbreak began, Taiwan has been actively seeking to cooperate with related international partners. For example, on March 18, Taiwan and the United States issued a joint statement on combating COVID-19, such as by sharing information on the development of a vaccine, as well as medical supplies. Academia Sinica has also had a teleconference with European Union officials on consultations and cooperation for the development of rapid tests and a vaccine. We will continue to assist the international community with respect to face masks, medicines, and technical matters. So far, we have donated 17 million masks for frontline medical personnel in countries hit hard by the pandemic, including the United States, Japan, European countries, our diplomatic allies, New Southbound Policy partner countries, and Latin American countries. In the future, we will offer more assistance and support to the international community depending on our domestic capabilities, including seeking more cooperation with our important partner, India.

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Views expressed above are the author's own.

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