[28 July 2021] Every country has faced serious challenges associated with the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS?CoV?2) pandemic. But not every country has fared in equal measure during this trying time. Observers have noted repeatedly that a number of countries in Southeast Asia —among them South Korea, Taiwan and Japan— have been able to withstand the force of COVID-19 far more effectively than others.
Why? Yi Chen Chang, a promising young researcher from Taiwan, who is currently undertaking postgraduate research in Europe through the Erasmus Mundus Joint Master Degree program, offers some answers. Writing this month for the European Intelligence Academy’s Research Paper Series, Yi recognizes that the island nation’s response to the pandemic has not been perfect. Indeed, she writes that, “while other countries started their vaccination program for the majority of their population […], Taiwan closed its doors and suffered from the sudden rise of cases and the vaccine shortage”. The nation is only now waking up to the need to think one step ahead in regards to its pandemic response.
Despite such shortcomings, however, Taiwan’s overall performance in the ongoing battle against COVID-19 can be descried as nothing short of exemplary. At the moment, while much of “the rest of the world was struggling with lockdowns and healthcare-system breakdowns, the Taiwanese people [are] enjoying a relatively normal life within their comfort zone”. This, says Yi, is due to three things: first, Taiwan’s collectivist culture, which encourages the voluntary compliance of citizens to regulations; second, the country’s prior experience with SARS in 2003, which prompted its government to develop a comprehensive strategy for disease containment early on; and, finally, the ability of Taiwanese leaders to present COVID-19 to their citizens as an existential threat, thus securitizing the pandemic in a way that justified extreme emergency measures.
It is important to note, adds Yi, that Taiwan has been able to successfully combat the pandemic while resting on democratic governance and transparency as the main pillars of its mitigation strategy. In this sense, she writes, “the country has shown the world that governments can fight against COVID-19 without sacrificing the tenets of democracy. Unlike the authoritarian regime across the Strait, Taiwan’s successful practices against COVID-19 did not result from severe means imposed by the authorities that result in the violation of human rights, the imposition of censorship, restricting public access to information, and so on”.
The author concludes her paper with a recommendation worth considering: Taiwan’s success against the pandemic should be studied by the World Health Organization and the World Health Assembly, for the benefit of the world. These organizations should ensure that “everyone should be included” in the fight against COVID-19, “especially countries like Taiwan, which are capable and willing to provide vital support to countries in need, whether in the time of the coronavirus, or any future challenge for the global health system”. The paper can be accessed here. [EIA]