Taiwan’s Digital Minister Audrey Tang attended the Web Conference on the 22nd to explain to the world the reasons behind Taiwan’s success in combating the outbreak of the coronavirus.
In her presentation, Tang firstly highlighted the trust between the government and the people in Taiwan. She mentioned that as Dr Lee Wen-Liang was enquired, public shamed and silenced in China for whistle blowing the spread of the virus, the Center of Disease Control (CDC) in Taiwan discovered a re-post of Dr Lee’s warning in a public forum in December and took it very seriously and acted swiftly. Tang then summarized the three factors contributing to Taiwan’s success.
Factor 1: Fast-Actions
Audrey Tang pointed out that Taiwan is the most liberal country in Asia. People enjoy a high degree of freedom. The Central Epidemic Command Center gives a press conference daily to explain the current situation of the outbreak and the government’s combat measures, as well as to answer questions. The press can ask any questions in the conference and the public can submit their questions or comments via a toll-free telephone line. The Command Center’s direct and fast action on handling the situations and communicating with the public is the first factor contributing to Taiwan’s success.
Factor 2: Fairness
Audrey Tang continued that Taiwan has a high NHI coverage rate and a high capacity for manufacturing medical masks. The government has created a user-friendly mask retailing system. The public can use an APP to find out the stock level of masks in nearby pharmacies. The information is open and transparent. Every adult is rationed with 9 masks for every two weeks. The system then evolved into an on-line order service. The fair distribution of disease prevention materials is the second factor contributing to Taiwan’s success.
Factor 3: Fun
Audrey Tang mentioned that during the outbreak, there were a lot of fake news and fallacies which may lead to panicking and stockpiling. The government and the society adopted the approach of “humour over rumour” to tackle the spread of false information. It shows that humours messages disseminate faster and more wildly than messages in an official tone. This approach which helps ease panic and keeps the public amused and calm is the third factor contributing to Taiwan’s success.
【2020-04-24 / Liberty Times】
