Virus brings opportunities
Taiwan needs to be taken seriously as a global entity. Now is the time to make that happen. From Johns Hopkins University’s COVID-19 dashboard recognizing Taiwan as a distinct entity from China to the pages of the Journal of the American Medical Association and news outlets like the Guardian, the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal, Taiwan is experiencing an incredible surge in its international image.
I speak as a Taiwanese living in North America. People still confuse Taiwan and Thailand. Others are surprised to hear that Taiwanese is a distinct language. For many, Taiwan’s claim to fame is its exportation of bubble tea, although even then few know its true origins. And I am speaking of university graduates. This is sad and it needs to be rectified.
The potential for a new conversation is emerging. As headlines continue to spotlight Taiwan, there is an opportunity for Taiwanese to highlight their country’s tremendous response to the pandemic in their respective places globally.
This is sensible because it helps people to learn from what has been effective in a scary time, but it is also important because it creates awareness around Taiwan’s strengths.
Even from within Taiwan, in a time of global turmoil and uncertainty, it is a time to celebrate a country uniting to fight the pandemic.
Taiwan’s containment of the virus is nothing short of incredible. The international community has clearly noticed. That this has been accomplished while the WHO continues to reject Taiwan’s sovereign status is even more compelling. Add to this military intimidation and the fact that there was an infected individual on the first evacuation plane from China to Taiwan and you have something worth writing about in the history books.
This is the momentum behind Taiwan’s work. Taiwanese need to realize this and carry it beyond this COVID-19 pandemic.
The next few months will provide an opportunity for the international community to continue studying Taiwan’s response to the pandemic and what made it so efficacious. Taiwan should be ready to embrace this, but it must facilitate this process while advocating for the nation’s sovereignty.
Governmental collaboration should encourage each country to formally recognize and even bolster Taiwan’s independent status. Businesses and medical enterprises should similarly develop bonds with Taiwan as a distinct country. Pressure should continue to be applied to international organizations like the WHO.
As the world’s doubts grow regarding China’s handling of the novel coronavirus, its atrocious treatment of its own people through “re-education” camps, and the overall wisdom of ties with China, Taiwan must continue to pave a separate path. This must begin with Taiwanese recognizing their own identity in Taiwan and elsewhere, and wearing it as a badge of honor.
Liao Li De
Toronto, Canada
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