To date, Taiwan is one of the most successful countries in the world in fighting pandemics. Taiwanese minister and digitization expert Audrey Tang explains why this is the case and what comedians have to do with it.
Interview by
Kai Strittmatter and Christoph Giesen
While the world ran after the spread of the coronavirus, Taiwan was always one step ahead: At the end of December 2019, when the first news about a mysterious lung disease made the rounds in Wuhan, Taiwan switched to crisis mode, controlled by the Center for Disease Control, the It was founded in 2004 after the lung disease SARS hit the island. The lesson at the time: Better to make a quick decision than perfect, if necessary you can improve it. Since February 6, 2020, you have not been allowed to enter from China at all, because the fever from the Far East was still mocked in Europe. Regardless of whether it is wearing a mask, contact tracing or precautionary quarantine: What was usually first introduced in Taiwan is now standard worldwide – unfortunately often too late.