Taiwan’s Coronavirus Response Offers Lessons for the World
By Young Kim | April 6, 2020
The United States is experiencing something uniquely challenging, the deadly coronavirus. Massive readjustments are being forced on Americans with “social distancing” and stay at home orders. These are times of great uncertainty and concern as our economy dramatically slows.
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“International coordination to combat coronavirus is essential. Important too is learning “best practices” from those governments who have most successfully responded to this grave health challenge. At the top of this list is Taiwan.
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“Taiwan’s low number of cases is no coincidence. According to one report, Taiwanese authorities took 124 actions starting in December, when most of the world was oblivious to the threat. Among those actions, Taiwan activated a command response center, which holds daily briefings, sent a fact-finding team to China, imposed travel bans and quarantines, and restricted the export of medical supplies.
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“The effectiveness of the Taiwanese response is all the more impressive given that it’s not a member of the World Health Organization. Beijing has always rejected Taiwan’s membership as part of its decades long policy of attempting to isolate it and diminishing its legal autonomy.
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“The world, through the WHO, has a lot to learn from Taiwan. That can best be accomplished only if Taiwan has a seat at the WHO.
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“We can’t play politics with global health. This is not the first, and certainly not the last pandemic of this magnitude, and the world must be better prepared by sharing best practices in a timely manner.
The United States and world have a lot to learn from Taiwan’s impressive response.”