As we stepped into Taoyuan International Airport on the 6th of January 2020, what caught my eye was a decorative wall hanging of an electronic circuit board and a digital micro chip, show-casing Taiwan to visitors as the third largest semi-conductor chip maker in the world.
What I didn’t give
much importance to was the screening of in-coming passengers for fever. Yes, I
also went through the scanner, missing the gravity of the procedure! I recall
now that each and every person working at the airport wore a mask.
Today, reading through
articles, blogs etc I gathered that Taiwan ,which is separated from mainland
China by a 180km wide strait , got wind of the virus sweeping through China in
December. They informed WHO but in vain. Taiwan has no place in the UNO /WHO
due to irrational objections from Mainland China. Taiwan was denied observer
status in the World Health Assembly. As a result ,the virus was poorly understood by the
world.
As early as the first
week of December , health workers in Taipei boarded flights coming in from
Wuhan with temperature guns to check if any passenger had the ‘Wuhan pneumonia”,
as they called it then, before allowing them to disembark.
The C-virus which is taking a toll on the political
infra-structure, economy, and the social fabric of every country, has been
better handled by Taiwan than its neighbouring countries with 215 cases (as I
write) and 2 deaths. A combination
of advanced technology, preparedness, transparency and great discipline (no nonsense
attitude) of the work-force has helped to check the disease. The 2003 SARS
epidemic saw 71 deaths in a population of 23million. Soon after, the Government
set up the CECC (Central Epidemic Command Centre) which monitors the health
system and collates information from health insurance agencies, Customs and
Immigration.
In the present crisis the Health Minister addresses the
nation everyday on the measures to be taken. Hotlines provide information. The
neighbourhood “warden system” enforces quarantine and delivers meals to the
weak and the aged.
Taiwan is preparing for the second wave. They believe that
the C-virus having made a full run through Europe and USA will make a complete circuit and reach Taiwan through imported cases, returning citizens. They
have set guidelines for a very educated, disciplined nation who follow rules,
who don’t blame others, organise “quarantine hotels “and handle the
undocumented workers who live there.
Taiwan‘s success is comparable to Singapore. In fact Roy
Ngereng of “The News Lens” has said “Taiwan is handling even better than
Singapore.”
The bottom line is that Taiwan had upped their antennas much
ahead of the other Asian countries. What awaits them is unsure for the strength
of the unknown cannot be fathomed. However, the beautiful island nation does
deserve a round of applause.
