With all that’s happened recently, we’re all looking for any positive news we can find. No matter what your politics, it’s undeniable that Taiwan’s arguably done the world’s best job of controlling the spread of Covid-19.
Taiwan on Tuesday (April 14) reported no new cases of the coronavirus for the first time in more than a month, in the latest sign that the island’s early and effective prevention methods have paid off.
The country has not only controlled its own outbreak, it’s also now able to donate much-needed medical supplies including more than 10 million masks to other countries, including the US, as part of its “Taiwan can help” campaign.
What’s the story with Taiwan?
As reported by Stanford University, Taiwan’s implemented 124 specific, individual measures starting as early as 31st December 2019 – the full chronological list of which can be found here – including everything from crowdsourcing solutions via hackathons, to outlawing the spreading of fake, virus-related news early (on 21st January), to mobilising its Army to increase mask production across dozens of facilities (on 11th February), long before virtually anyone else was considering the implications of the wholesale breakdown in the global (medical) supply chain that’s lead to a near-universal lack of masks on the market, in turn leading to accusations of modern-day “piracy” just days ago when the US questionably seized a shipment of 3 million masks due for Germany, while in transit in Bangkok.
The tangible value of Taiwan’s concerted efforts are that shortly after reporting its first case on 21st January (having already taken preventative actions since 31st December), Taiwan’s CDC almost immediately identified 47 individuals who were at risk, only 1 of whom eventually developed minor, non-Covid symptoms.
By achieving near 100% contact tracing accuracy, Taiwan (impressively) only passed 200 confirmed cases on 24th March, far later than almost any other developed economy. This has meant that to date it has just 393 cases and a mere 6 fatalities (338 were imported cases, with the rest cases of local transmissions) thanks entirely to the highly structured response from its Central Epidemic Command Center which had a ready-to-go playbook dating back to SARS in 2003.
Leveraging on the value of Taiwan’s tech-enabled civic culture through a sophisticated mix of big data analytics and aggressive proactive testing, it managed to avoid a total lockdown situation, unlike almost every other major economy.
But that’s only part of the story. Taiwan’s been able to achieve those results despite a monumental barrier: China.
As many know, China (aka PRC) and Taiwan (aka ROC) have been at odds on the international stage since 1949. This has played out in myriad ways internationally, the most obvious in recent years being China’s concerted efforts to get some of Taiwan’s last-remaining diplomatic allies to change alliances and acknowledge Beijing’s One China policy, alongside China’s actively blocking, or indirectly lobbying against Taiwan’s inclusion in various international bodies, including the UN and WHO – a fact which has taken on heightened relevance in light of Covid-19. This puts Taiwan at odds with the WHO, and puts its obvious expertise out-of-play on the global stage at the worst possible time for all of us.
It’s a situation laid bare by RTHK reporter Yvonne Tong’s highly controversial, heavily reported-on interview with the WHO’s Dr. Bruce Aylward last week, in which Dr. Aylward hung up on the interview call after being pressed on a question about Taiwan. This is followed by the WHO quickly releasing a statement saying “The question of Taiwanese membership in WHO is up to WHO Member States, not WHO staff. However, WHO is working closely with all health authorities who are facing the current coronavirus pandemic, including Taiwanese health experts. “
With Taiwan’s argument essentially being that this exemplifies Beijing’s policy of obstructing Taiwan’s ability to take any actions internationally, it thus blocks its ability to contribute as a member of the global community at a time when it’s needed most.
Beijing’s larger argument can be reasonably inferred by the Hong Kong Government’s own statement following the RTHK interview (and which RTHK vehemently denies), criticising the interview for going against Beijing’s “One China, Two System” policy – which Hong Kong itself adheres to – and in so doing, giving political oxygen to something Beijing considers an indisputable fact: that there is only One China and Taiwan is an inalienable part of that.
A painfully obvious stalemate was just made all the more complex, when the White House quietly signed the TAIPEI Act into law following unanimous approval in both houses of Congress. It legally obligates the US Government to “increase its economic, diplomatic, and security engagements with nations… that have upgraded relations with Taipei.” This possibly either complicates things further, or if we’re extremely optimistic, creates a new backstop for Taipei-Beijing relations. It’s anyone’s guess at the moment.
Regardless of your politics, what can we learn from all this?
Firstly, that every story including this one has a complex back-story behind it. Secondly, that Taiwan’s impressive management of its Covid-19 situation didn’t happen in a vacuum, but was largely done in (political) isolation. Thirdly, no matter what your politics, a lack of global cooperation is counter-productive in a crisis like Covid-19. Fourth and perhaps most importantly, Taiwan’s handling of the situation shows the world that Covid-19 is conquerable, despite very large odds.
In the bigger picture, if Taiwan gets this right, it’s an opportunity for them to press for greater international recognition – something Beijing obviously views as a negative outcome. While in Beijing’s calculation, if it gets this right, it’s an opportunity to sideline what may be Taiwan’s last, best (objectively speaking) apolitical argument for greater recognition at a global level – something Taiwan obviously views as a negative outcome.
In this case, two negatives do not make a positive. Most of us would probably agree we shouldn’t be wasting valuable energy arguing about geo-politics at a time of crisis, but it’s precisely that argument that’s being played out as we speak, in the halls of the institutions we should be able to count on now.
Who’s absolutely right in this situation? Probably no one. Who loses if we get any part of this complex situation wrong? Everyone.
Regardless of your politics, if Taiwanese expertise can help us win the fight against Covid-19, then that’s a win for us all. The real challenge may be how we all agree on making that win-win happen.
It’s a sentiment perhaps summed up best in The National’s recent story on the situation: “At this point, sovereignty can’t save us – but solidarity might.”
Note to readers: Wherever possible, we’ve attempted to share objective, third party links to source material in this story, but given that both Covid-19 and China-Taiwan’s cross-straits relationship are extremely complex, we encourage you to do your own research before forming an opinion on this major global issue.
