How Taiwan’s Success with COVID-19 Negatively Impacts US-China Relations

A guest post today from UNC junior Morgan Hanchard, a 2019 Phillips Ambassador to Shanghai, China, and a double-major in HIstory and Peace, War & Defense:

As COVID-19 swept across the globe, its effects presented differently in differing regions.  Some countries saw lethal numbers of cases, in which population densities significantly decreased.  In some countries, the virus was tackled effectively, minimizing damage to populations.  Taiwan’s number of confirmed cases has yet to reach the 500 mark, largely due to their universal healthcare system.  To praise Taiwan for its success in handling the pandemic, the United States sent a U.S. Cabinet member to Taiwan, simultaneously hoping to learn from their “incredibly effective” response to COVID-19.  On August 10, United States Health and Human Services Secretary, Alex Azar, spent three days in Taiwan with President Tsai Ing-Wen, demonstrating Washington’s support for positive U.S.-Taiwan relations.

However, this success comes at a cost.  With tensions between the United States and China at a breaking point as President Trump continuously demonizes China, even calling COVID-19 the “Chinese virus,” Azar’s trip to Taiwan cannot ignore its geopolitical intentions.  This interaction was a foreign policy rarity.  Azar is the highest U.S official to visit Taiwan since 1979, when the Taiwan Relations Act was signed into effect under the Carter Administration.  This legislation ended all diplomatic relations between the United States and Taiwan, under the terms that the United States solely recognize the People’ Republic of China, breaking ties with Taiwan completely.  By sending a delegation into Taiwan, which is not lawfully recognized by the United States, the Trump Administration is likely to spark controversy within Beijing.

On August 11, Azar spoke at National Taiwan University, where he stated that “in these trying times, the United States knows that we will always have a friend in Taiwan.”  In addition, Azar praised Taiwan’s democratic values, implying that Taiwan’s success can be contributed to its democratic society.  This statement set off anger in Beijing and amongst the Chinese Communist Party, as the U.S. gets dangerously closer to brinkmanship with China.  Azar claims that his trip was solely based on public health issues and Washington’s effort to gain insight on their treatment methods.  Even with COVID-19 in mind, the political consequences within U.S.-China relations cannot be ignored.  By ameliorating their relationship with Taiwan, Washington runs the risk of pushing tensions with Beijing to the brink. China may view Azar’s visit to Taiwan as a challenge to its sovereignty, polarizing the two sides even further.  The Trump administration is utilizing Taiwan as a strategic ploy to provoke China, which could seriously taint the bilateral relationship.

Find out more about this story at the Washington Post, CNN, or the Wall Street Journal.

Asian Businesses Respond to COVID-19

A guest post today from UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School student Youthika Chauhan, a doctoral candidate and Graduate Phillips Ambassador for 2020, as well as a past Mahatma Gandhi Fellow through UNC Sangam and the Carolina Asia Center:

COVID-19 has created an impact on each of our lives in many different ways. But with the onset of the July, more and more countries are relaxing their measures. Several organizations have been instrumental in helping local communities to cope with the stringent legal measures. As a PhD candidate at UNC Kenan-Flagler Business School, I have the opportunity to study several socially impactful organizations. Many scientists, educators, and other professionals shared their insights about how their organization helped their local communities to cope with the recent difficult times. Their stories are as not only impactful but also inspirational for they symbolize the better times that lie ahead of us.

Smart Air is multi-country social enterprise based in China, India, Mongolia, Philippines, Bangladesh, Thailand and Indonesia that makes affordable air purifiers. Dhariyash Rathod, the CEO of Smart Air India shares that on the outbreak of COVID-19, Smart Air team ran tests to determine the best material suited for making DIY masks. Then, the firm shared their data, and released the “Ultimate Guide to Homemade Face Masks for Coronavirus” on their website.

Kagal Education Society, an educational non-profit based in rural India has been working on some very innovative teaching approaches. Their simple, yet effective use of technology has not only prevented the education of their students from being disrupted, but has also ensured that the educational needs of their each of their students is met even in these difficult times. According to Sharmilee Mane, Director of YD Mane Research Center for Agriculture and Rural Development (part of the Kagal Education Society), “students have goals for their studies.” Sharmilee describes how their organization makes sures that their students can accomplish all of their goals. “Our teachers deliver lectures on Zoom. They share their homework on WhatsApp with the parents. The parents then make the students complete their homework, and share it with the teachers on WhatsApp. We have been conducting classes with not more than 15 students at a time, as per the government’s regulation.” With the right use of technology, Kagal Education Society has set an example for educational institutes to follow, not only in rural India, but also in developing regions across the world.

Winkler Partners, a Taiwan-based law firm has made significant effort to ameliorate vulnerable lives impacted severely by COVID-19. James Hill, Community Coordinator at Winkler Partners shared about their work with me. “We weren’t that badly affected by COVID-19, however a lot of charities stopped supporting or providing services to the homeless because people were encouraged to not interact with each other, to be socially distant. A lot of charities, pulled out of doing the kind of on-the-ground work that they’ve been doing. So, we helped support a charity that was stepping into to provide regular meals to homeless people.”

Indeed, efforts like these allow not only organizations to be resilient in hard times, but also enable local communities to be resilient, and recover soon. While we look forward to better times, it is important to acknowledge the efforts of all those who have provided their time, resources, and efforts in dealing with the pandemic.

Taiwan’s successful approach to COVID

The world has recognized Taiwan for its effective response to the COVID outbreak. Taiwan has had a total of 446 cases and only 7 deaths as of June 20th, and has eased social distancing restrictions. Restrictions on the total number of people allowed at social gatherings and socially distanced seating arrangements have been removed. Wearing masks in public will still be required, but eating will be allowed in most instances.

Similar to Vietnam, Taiwan focused heavily on the systematic use of its digital health infrastructure after the SARS outbreak in 2003. They used effective testing, isolation, and contact tracing to control the viral spread, and with their electronic health records, they were able to reorient toward slowing the pandemic.

Every person in Taiwan has a health card with an ID unique to them so that doctors and hospitals can access online medical records. Health providers use the cards to document care for reimbursement from the Ministry of Health, which allows the ministry regular, real-time data on visits and use of services. The health card was repurposed when COVID-19 hit to stop the spread by sending physicians alerts about patients at higher risk based on travel history. This utilization allowed for better identification of candidates for testing when supplies were limited. No other society has such an effective real-time electronic heath record system, and this is one of the main attributes of Taiwan’s success, leading to the current opening.

Taiwan has allowed masks to be purchased on the free market, after they were rationed since January when the military was tasked by the government to create them. Taiwan has since exceeded 20 million in production. Many of these masks are being donated to other countries to help their fight against the virus. Whether or not the rest of the world will learn from Taiwan’s success can only be determined by the future, but in the meantime, Taiwan’s aid during this crisis has not gone unnoticed.

Author: Camryn Thomas