Once considered the most vulnerable to the COVID-19 outbreak because it’s so close to China, Taiwan has turned out to be a model for the world’s fight against the pandemic, thanks to quick decisions and early measures by its government, and to the high standard of the island nation’s public health system and its people.
According to real-time data released on Worldometer (https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/), a website tracking global COVID-19 figures, as of June 30, Taiwan, with only 447 cases, ranked 155th among 215 countries in terms of the number of infections. Only three entities with fewer cases have a larger population than Taiwan’s, which currently stands at 23.81 million.
But such feats are no fluke. Credit must go to the government, which detected an outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan in December and which swung into action right away by imposing measures to prevent the virus from spreading in Taiwan. The government under President Tsai Ing-wen has led the country united by a common goal to fight the disease. Machine tool manufacturers answered a call from the government and put aside their rivalry to form a national team responsible for increasing Taiwan’s daily output of masks tenfold to 20 million.
Under the tireless leadership of the Central Epidemic Command Center, front-line medical professionals have made sacrifices and the public have put up with inconveniences while following restrictions imposed by the government.
Not only has it been applauded by nations around the world for its success in containing the disease, Taiwan has also won friendship by donating masks to numerous countries after meeting its domestic demand. Dozens of media outlets in countries such as the United States, Japan, EU members, Turkey and India have reported Taiwan’s success in fighting the pandemic and government leaders and public officials from numerous countries have openly praised and thanked the island and its people.
When congratulating Tsai on her second inauguration on May 20, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State David Stilwell said “the world owes Taiwan a debt for ringing the alarm, and for modeling excellent transparency and full respect for basic human rights” in Taiwan’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Taiwan stepped up to help many others in need, including the United States, he said.
