How Taiwan carried on as normal amidst Covid-19

Taiwan seems to be cropping up in the global news more often recently. Usually as source of tension between the United States and China yet sometimes for curious events like Taiwanese politicians throwing pig guts at one another over a debate about pork imports. Politics aside though, Taiwan is a home to 23 million people. This past year I’ve been lucky to find myself living here among them.

Reading reports from the UK (my home) and around the world of lockdowns, restrictions, online school, remote work and hospitals under pressure remain surreal to me. That’s because Taiwan has never experienced a lockdown, not even for a day. Life has gone on. Things have been ridiculously normal.

While officially isolated on the international stage, Taiwan has still been an economic and democratic hub in East Asia. To me this makes it all the more surprising that it’s response to Covid-19 has been so successful. Certainly Taipei is not London or New York but nor is it some backwater to which the epidemic would never spread. Taipei Taoyuan International airport is a regional and international hub for air traffic.

So why has Taiwan been successful? I suspect the main reason is an ironic one: it’s not allowed in the WHO. Due to pressure from mainland China, Taiwan isn’t able to be a full member of international bodies. At best, it’s invited as an observer but in recent years not even that. So back at the start of the pandemic, when the rest of the world was simply hearing of something happening in China, Taiwan sent some of it’s own to investigate. Shortly after, passengers from China started being screened, Chinese New Year school holidays were extended by 2 weeks to allow a clearer picture to emerge and mask wearing was becoming more widespread.

Then the borders were closed and any arrivals were (and still are) required to quarantine at home or in a quarantine hotel for 14 days after arrival.

It’s really been as simple as that. Life has gone on inside the bubble that is Taiwan. While a few scares occurred they have all been managed effectively by the Taiwanese health authorities. They deserve the applause they get.

The only downside I feel (and perhaps this is due to my own pride as foreigner) is that some Taiwanese think there is something extra special about their society that’s brought this success. Certainly there are some things, but the main thing has always been being as island. Could the Taiwanese tactics have produced better results in vastly different places such as northern Italy and the United States? Probably, but I doubt it would be anywhere on the level of Taiwan’s spectacular epidemic prevention success.