The government is working hard to contain COVID-19 in Taiwan and stands ready to work alongside the U.S. in the fight against the disease, according to Foreign Minister Jaushieh Joseph Wu March 16.
Taiwan has been more successful than some other countries in dealing with coronavirus because of its experience during the severe acute respiratory syndrome outbreak in 2003, Wu said. “We learned the lesson, and therefore tried to structure the government to deal with an epidemic like this.”
Equally important is planning ahead of time, the minister said, citing measures such as quickly establishing the Central Epidemic Command Center, enforcing strict border controls, issuing timely information to the public, rationing key medical supplies and tracking confirmed and possible cases.
The head of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs made the remarks during an exclusive interview in Taipei City for U.S.-based radio program the Hugh Hewitt Show. During the recording, the minister also talked about China’s authoritarian approach to handling the pandemic, which started in the city of Wuhan in late 2019.
According to Wu, although the epidemic is likely to slow business activity around the world, the government is sparing no effort to keep the economy on track through structural reform, technological innovation and infrastructure projects.
Wu said Taiwan is also leveraging its medical R&D capability and cooperating with the U.S. to develop rapid testing kits, medicines and vaccines.
Wu called for further collaboration in the international community to trace infected cases and those they have come into contact with. “If we are going to fight the epidemic…there has to be a global effort,” he said. (SFC-E)
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