The “Taiwan model” for combating COVID-19 is a roadmap for the world, American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Director Brent Christensen said yesterday at the start of the Coronavirus Hackathon.
Christensen, speaking at the Executive Yuan, where officials were announcing the start of the hackathon — a public event sponsored by the AIT and the government to find ways to fight against the pandemic — said that the “Taiwan model” could be summarized in five Ts: transparency, transportation controls, tracking, testing and technology.
Taiwan has ensured transparency when sharing information about its approach to preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus and policies with the public — and the WHO, despite it unfairly excluding the nation, he said.
Photo: CNA
The nation’s authorities were among the first to begin screening flights, mandating quarantines for people arriving from high-risk areas, organizing safe transportation and monitoring people in quarantine, he added.
The authorities have meticulously tracked individuals who had a high risk of exposure to COVID-19 and enforced a targeted testing protocol based on rigorous contact tracing, Christensen said.
The model has used numerous technologies, such as tracing the movements of a confirmed case — using data from cell phone towers and then broadcasting messages to other mobile phones that were at the same places at that time — and using data analysis when implementing mask rationing, he said.
“Taiwan’s response to COVID-19 has been more successful than any in the world, according to nearly all available metrics,” and despite its proximity to China, he said.
The hackathon is designed to build on these successes to devise transportation-related innovations to ensure an optimal transition leading up to the listing of travel restrictions, as well as to protect essential workers and people who lack the means to access vital services, he said.
Officials hopes to learn from the hackathon how to use artificial intelligence and big data to develop predictive tools to track the virus much in the same way weather is forecast, providing policymakers and the public the information they need to respond and stay ahead of the curve to prevent COVID-19 from getting out of control, Christensen said.
The hackathon is intended to gather input about how to use these technologies to manage health resources across jurisdictions to ensure that front-line healthcare personnel are properly protected and that people are informed of pandemic risks while maintaining democratic values to hopefully elicit voluntary cooperation with the government’s disease prevention policies, he said.
He hopes that the hackathon would be another example of the fresh thinking that is only found in Taiwan, combining innovative technologies with a commitment to social good, he added.
Taiwan, as a member of the global community, hopes to engage with other nations to research vaccines, provide medical supplies and use technology to fight COVID-19, Vice Premier Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) said.
The US is a world leader in pharmaceuticals and vaccine research and development, which coupled with Taiwan’s strengths in universal health insurance, and information and communication technologies, would help the world defeat COVID-19, he said.
The AIT and the Executive Yuan are seeking the public’s responses to questions about COVID-19 starting on May 5.
Costa Rica sent a group of intelligence officials to Taiwan for a short-term training program, the first time the Central American country has done so since the countries ended official diplomatic relations in 2007, a Costa Rican media outlet reported last week. Five officials from the Costa Rican Directorate of Intelligence and Security last month spent 23 days in Taipei undergoing a series of training sessions focused on national security, La Nacion reported on Friday, quoting unnamed sources. The Costa Rican government has not confirmed the report. The Chinese embassy in Costa Rica protested the news, saying in a statement issued the same
Taiwan is to extend its visa-waiver program for Philippine passport holders for another year, starting on Aug. 1, Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said on Friday. Lin made the announcement during a reception in Taipei marking the 127th anniversary of Philippine independence and the 50th anniversary of the establishment of the Manila Economic and Cultural Office (MECO) in Taiwan, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. The decision reflected Taiwan’s commitment to deepening exchanges with the Philippines, the statement cited Lin as saying, adding that it was a key partner under the New Southbound Policy launched in 2016. Lin also expressed hope
Temperatures in New Taipei City’s Sindian District (新店) climbed past 37°C yesterday, as the Central Weather Administration (CWA) issued heat alerts for 16 municipalities, warning the public of intense heat expected across Taiwan. The hottest location in Taiwan was in Sindian, where the mercury reached 37.5°C at about 2pm, according to CWA data. Taipei’s Shilin District (士林) recorded a temperature of 37.4°C at noon, Taitung County’s Jinfeng Township (金峰) at 12:50 pm logged a temperature of 37.4°C and Miaoli County’s Toufen Township (頭份) reached 36.7°C at 11:40am, the CWA said. The weather agency yesterday issued a yellow level information notice for Taipei, New
CASE: Prosecutors have requested heavy sentences, citing a lack of remorse and the defendants’ role in ‘undermining the country’s democratic foundations’ Five people affiliated with the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), including senior staff from the party’s Taipei branch, were indicted yesterday for allegedly forging thousands of signatures to recall two Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers. Those indicted include KMT Taipei chapter director Huang Lu Chin-ru (黃呂錦茹), secretary-general Chu Wen-ching (初文卿) and secretary Yao Fu-wen (姚富文), the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office said in a news release. Prosecutors said the three were responsible for fabricating 5,211 signature forms — 2,537 related to the recall of DPP Legislator Wu Pei-yi (吳沛憶) and 2,674 for DPP Legislator Rosalia Wu (吳思瑤) — with forged entries accounting for