Why Taiwan matters (COVID-19)

Newstatesman.com ^ | 24 Feb, 2021 | HARRY EYRES

[MtnClimber]

With only nine deaths from Covid-19, the island’s handling of the pandemic is a testament to the success of its democracy.

Taiwan’s successful handling of the Covid-19 pandemic is a model for the world,” announced the outgoing US ambassador to the United Nations, Kelly Craft, in a statement on 19 January. With a population of nearly 24 million, the self-styled Republic of China (a de facto independent democracy, but claimed by the People’s Republic of China, which has never ruled over it) has, as it stands, managed to limit case numbers to 941 and deaths to only nine.

This is not accidental. Taiwan’s painful brush with severe acute respiratory syndrome (Sars) in 2003, when 181 people died, meant it was better prepared for a pandemic involving a highly transmissible and deadly virus than nearly all European nations or the US. I experienced this preparedness when flying from Taiwan Taoyuan International airport on 21 January 2020, where prominent signs with the characters for “Wuhan” directed arrivals from the stricken Chinese city through separate channels.

The raw numbers and the efficiency of the government response are not the only reasons Taiwan’s handling of Covid-19 has been exemplary. As Jeanette Chiang, a columnist for the Taiwanese daily China Times, explains, the “effort has been bottom-up rather than top-down, the achievement of grass-roots civil society as much as government”. Taiwan has avoided lockdowns and schools have stayed open. “We go to the theatre and pack restaurants wearing masks,” reports Lin Hwai-min, the founder of Taiwan’s acclaimed Cloud Gate Dance Theatre. “The good normal life in Taiwan seems surreal.”

[MtnClimber]

Interesting because the WHO seems “owned” by China and does not recognize Taiwan. The WHO refused to pay attention to Taiwan’s early warnings that a pandemic had broken out in China. The WHO also refused tp provide any support to Taiwan.

[CondoleezzaProtege]

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[Teacher317]

The Western World (Europe plus the Americas) average over 1000 cases per million, and Africa, Asia, and Australia average under 300 cases per million.

There is ZERO significant correlation between masks, distancing, weather, wealth, or anything else... and the only actual differentiation (East vs West) makes virtually zero epidemiological sense. The US is far wealthier than all of Africa, and masked and distanced far more, but got it worse. Central America is far poorer, and masked less but distanced more than Japan or Taiawn, but fared far poorer.

The virus, like Climate Change, is doing what it will do, irrespective of all of our shenanigans.

[Teacher317]

Someone explain Scandinavia to me... 110 Norway, 127 Finland, and 1197 Sweden??

And then someone explain this "coincidence"...

The map of China's global investments, per capita, look like a photographic negative of the Covid map...

Well, the pic won't load, so see it for yourself here: http://chinawatchcanada.blogspot.com/2017/01/the-chinese-are-taking-over-bahamas.html

[BobL]

We’ll see how that ‘gay marriage’ move works out for them.

[goodnesswins]

The West is fatter...seems there’s a correlation

[WhattheDickens?]

Ping.

[NetAddicted]

Read later.

[Paul R.]

Someone explain Scandinavia to me... 110 Norway, 127 Finland, and 1197 Sweden??

What are those numbers, anyway? Slightly outdated fatalities per million population?

In any event, Sweden's policies toward COVID-19 were considerably different than Norway's or Finland's.

BTW, Sweden's case numbers dropped off their 7-day average peak, starting about Christmas, but have been steadily going back up, for almost a month, now. I don't know if that's due to a change in testing or if it's another "wave" of infections. The fatalities curve should tell us, soon enough.