Two US lawmakers on Friday introduced a draft US-Taiwan Public Health Protection Act, showing Taiwan’s experience is much needed by the world despite its exclusion from the WHO.
The bill, introduced by US Senator Tom Cotton and Representative Ro Khanna, proposes the establishment of a US-Taiwan infectious disease monitoring center within the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT), the US’ de facto embassy in Taipei.
Since COVID-19 broke out in China’s Wuhan in December 2019, more than 248 million people around the world have tested positive for the virus, more than 5 million of whom have died, WHO data showed yesterday.
Aside from compiling the data, the global health body has failed to demonstrate leadership in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic, and it has not been able to provide a convincing investigation report on the origin of the virus. Most countries struggled to bring the pandemic under control by themselves or through cooperation with friendly countries, while new variants of SARS-CoV-2 continue to be reported in different corners of the world.
Taiwan is on the front line of defending against viruses and diseases imported from China. Prior to the pandemic, Taiwan was busy preventing the entry of African swine fever, which was raging across China and its neighboring countries. When Taiwan noticed an unusual pneumonia outbreak in Wuhan at the end of 2019, it implemented quarantine measures for people returning from China, even though Chinese authorities initially said that there was no sign of human-to-human transmission.
In hindsight, Taiwan’s caution regarding any information released by China has been key to its success in curbing the pandemic.
Taiwanese officials were not without their own blunders during the fight against the virus. Their delayed procurement of COVID-19 vaccines and problematic vaccination priority list led to vehement political disputes during a severe local outbreak that began in May. Nonetheless, the nation overcame these challenges, thanks to timely assistance from democratic partners that donated COVID-19 vaccines.
Over the past two years, many countries have expressed interest in Taiwan’s disease-prevention system by seeking to meet with the nation’s health experts. Former vice president Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁), an epidemiologist, on Tuesday led a team in a virtual meeting with Polish Academy of Sciences members. It was one of the countless meetings that Chen attended during the period.
Instead of letting such videoconferences take place occasionally, Taiwan needs a more regular platform to share its experience and document its exchanges with foreign partners. The disease monitoring center proposed by the US lawmakers would be a good start.
Meanwhile, the European Parliament earlier this week sent its first official delegation to Taiwan for discussions on combating disinformation. Before leaving Taipei, the delegation’s leader, European Member of Parliament Raphael Glucksmann, told a news conference on Friday that the EU is mulling the establishment of a center to fight disinformation, and that Taiwan would be a reasonable location to consider.
While Taiwan was portrayed as “the most dangerous place on Earth” by The Economist in its May edition, with many experts warning Taiwan about a Chinese invasion in coming years, spending more money on military equipment is not the only thing the nation can do.
Making itself a “porcupine” against military, biosafety or cybersecurity threats from China, in addition to becoming an indispensable partner for other countries, might signal more ways for Taiwan to prevent annexation by China.
Donald Trump’s return to the White House has offered Taiwan a paradoxical mix of reassurance and risk. Trump’s visceral hostility toward China could reinforce deterrence in the Taiwan Strait. Yet his disdain for alliances and penchant for transactional bargaining threaten to erode what Taiwan needs most: a reliable US commitment. Taiwan’s security depends less on US power than on US reliability, but Trump is undermining the latter. Deterrence without credibility is a hollow shield. Trump’s China policy in his second term has oscillated wildly between confrontation and conciliation. One day, he threatens Beijing with “massive” tariffs and calls China America’s “greatest geopolitical
US President Donald Trump’s seemingly throwaway “Taiwan is Taiwan” statement has been appearing in headlines all over the media. Although it appears to have been made in passing, the comment nevertheless reveals something about Trump’s views and his understanding of Taiwan’s situation. In line with the Taiwan Relations Act, the US and Taiwan enjoy unofficial, but close economic, cultural and national defense ties. They lack official diplomatic relations, but maintain a partnership based on shared democratic values and strategic alignment. Excluding China, Taiwan maintains a level of diplomatic relations, official or otherwise, with many nations worldwide. It can be said that
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) made the astonishing assertion during an interview with Germany’s Deutsche Welle, published on Friday last week, that Russian President Vladimir Putin is not a dictator. She also essentially absolved Putin of blame for initiating the war in Ukraine. Commentators have since listed the reasons that Cheng’s assertion was not only absurd, but bordered on dangerous. Her claim is certainly absurd to the extent that there is no need to discuss the substance of it: It would be far more useful to assess what drove her to make the point and stick so
On Sunday, 13 new urgent care centers (UCC) officially began operations across the six special municipalities. The purpose of the centers — which are open from 8am to midnight on Sundays and national holidays — is to reduce congestion in hospital emergency rooms, especially during the nine-day Lunar New Year holiday next year. It remains to be seen how effective these centers would be. For one, it is difficult for people to judge for themselves whether their condition warrants visiting a major hospital or a UCC — long-term public education and health promotions are necessary. Second, many emergency departments acknowledge
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