By Li Ping

Taiwan’s epidemic is seeing another surge in confirmed cases, with a sharp increase to 333 cases yesterday alone. Starting from tomorrow, the island is going on lockdown. Looks like it will be difficult to achieve the much-desired miracle of “lifting the third level within two weeks” by the netizens. Taiwan’s relaxation of quarantine for pilots upon entry was the cause of this disaster, one that is similar in nature to the mistake of Hong Kong’s exemption of seafarers’ quarantine that led to the third wave of outbreak. However, if Hong Kong was able to control the spreading of these outbreaks within one to two months, why is it now questioning that Taiwan will not be able to do it, and instead go and lick the CCP’s boots and praise its lockdown measures? Can it be that Taiwanese’s self-discipline cannot compare to that of Hongkongers? Or can it be that Tsai Ing-wen’s self-reflection ability is worse than that of Carrie Lam? Can it be that a democratic regime has less hope of successfully getting an epidemic under control than an autocratic regime?

The sharp surge in Taiwan’s local covid cases is currently mostly attributed to the biggest loophole of exempting foreign pilots from quarantine, and the relaxation of home quarantine of crew members. This is similar to the exemption for international seafarers in Hong Kong in July last year which led to a huge outbreak, and burst the “advanced deployment” that Taiwan has been so proud of. The preventive measures and anti-epidemic controls have been adopted for more than a year. Not only is Taiwan getting tired of all the efforts, but it is also getting arrogant for being the model student. Since this outbreak, although there are lots of comments “in hindsight” from the blue camp, it is nothing more than the Taiwan version of the Hong Kong’s politicians’ “fought for it and succeeded”.

Taiwan’s confirmed cases are reaching new heights by the day, and it is inevitable that the DPP government is criticized. No democratic regime can avoid being held accountable for any outbreak. No humane regime can conceal the epidemic and sacrifice and freedom and lives of the people in order to create the illusion of peace. Similarly, the Communist public opinion and KOLs are gloating over Taiwan’s epidemic, which is also expected. However, at least after the incident of “China’s ignition vs. India’s ignition” on the Chang’an’s official website, and that Taiwan’s number of deaths has not increased by too much, these people have yet to get too excited. When the official mouthpieces rushed to advertise that Taiwanese are kneeling to beg for the island to go on a lockdown and questioning Tsai Ing-wen that “the Mainland can do it, why can’t Taiwan”, it is nothing but to sing the praises of the CCP’s wise and decisive measures in the fight against the epidemic.

As loopholes in Taiwan’s anti-epidemic measures appear, they come with the usual debates seen in other places, such as whether to close the border or not, to put the island on lockdown or not, to conduct universal testing of the citizens or not, and to push vaccination or not. Taiwan’s Epidemic Command Center stressed that the lockdown of the island is part of the fourth level of security in crowd control. The current standard is an average of more than 100 new cases per day for seven consecutive days. It may seem pedantic to operate by the books, but if the government is allowed to move the goal post as it pleases, the abuse of power could become the norm. Just look at Carrie Lam’s administration in Hong Kong.

Moreover, where is the balance between strict anti-epidemic measures and the safeguarding of freedom and human rights? There is no good example in the U.S. and Europe, but does it mean that China’s model is the way to go? Facial recognition and big data monitoring can improve the efficiency of tracing contacts in the epidemic, but at the same time can effectively monitor speech and become a weapon to stifle freedom of speech. And don’t forget that China has not defeated covid altogether with these measures at all. The record of 22 consecutive days of no new local confirmed cases was broken when there were outbreaks again in Anhui, Liaoning, and other provinces. People who had close contact with the confirmed cases were also scattered in seven provinces and cities, including Beijing and Gansu, during the Labor Day weekend on May 1.

Although this current outbreak in Taiwan is serious, has anyone received a warning from the police for disclosing the epidemic? Has anyone been suppressed for demanding for border closer? Has anyone been accused of inciting or endangering national security for criticizing the government? Before, for Taiwan to be crowned the “model student in epidemic prevention” internationally, it was not just because of the Command Center’s efforts to fight against the epidemic and the hard work of the medical professionals, but also the freedom of speech and freedom of press under a democratic system. Today, there are loopholes in Taiwan’s epidemic fight, but its freedom of press and freedom of speech are still there, and criticism and supervision of the government are still not violations of the law.

Taiwanese netizens boasted that, “Look, world, Taiwanese are only going to demonstrate this once: level three will be lifted within two weeks.” What’s obvious is that such claims are underestimating the spread of the mutant virus, and ignoring the serious shortage of vaccines in Taiwan, but at least there is no lack of self-motivation for the people of Taiwan, and a way to spur Tsai Ing-wen’s government on. On the one hand, people are self-quarantining and carrying out protective measures ahead of the government’s decision to go on lockdown, which helps to halt the spread of the virus. It is also likely that people will cooperate with the government’s anti-epidemic measures in the near future. On the other hand, Tsai Ing-wen’s government is going to be more humble when listening to the advice of the experts and the opinions of the public next time around. If the epidemic cannot be curbed in time to give people hope for health and safety, how is that different from ringing the bells of the rotation of the ruling party?

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