As COVID-19, or as it called commonly in Taiwan, Wuhan Pneumonia (武漢肺炎), continues to ravage the world, Taiwan continues to be one of the few countries that held back an almost unstoppable force of nature.

As of writing, we are fast approaching nearly 1 million cases of coronavirus worldwide. This number was unfathomable 3 months ago. The virus was seen as nothing more than mild flu, with many Italians still continuing to greet each other with kisses.

There was even a well-meaning video of a Chinese person in Italy offering hugs to support the fight against prejudice and the coronavirus. I’m not making that up, by the way.

Now, it was all good-willed, but it does go to show just how badly educated people were on how easy it was to spread the virus.

November 2019 – The First Case of COVID-19 is Identified

Despite what the Chinese government may claim, there is enough evidence to suggest the virus was present as far back as November 2019. Even up to the end of December, information about the virus was suppressed, with one doctor being told to hush up and sign a document saying he was talking nonsense. He later died. His name was Li Wenliang.

December 2019 – Taiwanese Authorities Warn the WHO of Human Transmission — They’re Ignored

“Knock Knock WHO, Taiwan is calling…….. No seriously, you need to listen, lads, there is human to human transmission, and we can prove it! What do you mean to piss off?”

Let’s face it, the WHO is in China’s pocket, and that’s due to the power and influence that China has exerted on the rest of the world. Likewise, if the WHO took Taiwan’s warning, it would have made China lose face to a country that isn’t a country, but is a country, but isn’t a country, but is a country.

China can’t make up its mind when it comes to Taiwan, and when the country announced they had no new cases, they failed to take into account that Taiwan and Hong Kong both had new cases.

Taiwan is only part of China when it’s convenient for the CCP, but not when it comes to preventing an international pandemic.

January 20th – It is too late for most of the world

By January 20th, it was beginning to look too late to prevent the current onslaught of COVID-19 that we see now. The lack of checks and balances, as well as procedures to prevent the spread of this deadly virus, were not implemented almost universally across North America and Europe.

By January 21st, Taiwan had its first case and acted fast.

• Dec. 31 – Inspecting plane passengers coming from Wuhan
• January 23rd – Banning Wuhan residents
• January 25th – Suspending tours to China on Jan. 25
• January 24th –  The government halted the export of surgical face masks and stepped up production to meet the local demand
• January 31st – Face mask distribution policies prevented the hoarding of supplies or exploitative pricing
• February 6th – Banning all Chinese visitors

Eventually, all people returning to Taiwan were put into mandatory quarantine. By March 18th, all foreign visitors were barred from entering Taiwan, with only foreign residents and diplomats being allowed to return.

Hell, people that broke their 14 days of quarantine after returning from abroad could be fined up to NT$1 million.

Ignoring Taiwan Cost the World Lives

Since my introduction to Taiwan in 2011, I’ve always felt like Taiwan has been on the defensive when it came to its recognition in the world. China has been attracting top Taiwanese talent, allies, and businesses. Hell, you don’t have to go far in Europe or America to find CCP bootlickers that care more about how they benefit from a relationship with China than what happens in China because “I just work with them” or “I just live here.”

I have to say, it’s undeniable now that the world was left defenseless against COVID-19 due to Taiwan’s exclusion from the WHO and from basically almost the entire international system.

And why? Because the CCP is trying to punish Taiwan.

From reducing the number of tourists in Taiwan, attempting to manipulate elections, and continually threatening Taiwan with military action, you could almost say Taiwan’s liberal democracy had its days numbered.

But Taiwan persisted.

• Despite the Chinese boycott, tourism in Taiwan grew.
• Tsai Ing-wen and the DPP won the 2020 Presidential Elections.
• The US unanimously passed the TAIPEI Act to strengthen US-Taiwan relations against CCP bullying

In many ways, Taiwan stood up to Chinese economic aggression in a way that no other country across Europe and North American could.

Now, with Coronavirus sweeping the world, Taiwan is one of the few bastions of hope that, with the right measures, the virus can be beaten. Taiwan also proved something more profound; it doesn’t take draconian measures to prevent the spread of COVID-19.

It only takes preventative measures and transparency. It’s just a pity the WHO ignored Taiwan; otherwise, the world might’ve avoided needless deaths because the CCP wanted to punish the most successful democracy in Asia.

Life in Taiwan is a Stark Contrast to the Rest of the World

We all wear masks, and they’re not mandatory on all public transport. We are more aware of our hygiene and wash our hands, and we are now being introduced to social distancing.

With 329 cases, with 5 deaths, Taiwan has shown the world it’s possible to prevent the virus. Also, the majority of cases are imported, with local cases being tracked down to existing cases. As a result, life in Taiwan remains probably the most normal in the world at this stage. Hell, I even made a video about cycling from Shilin to Songshan because I was bored.

Long story short, life here hasn’t been overhauled to prevent the virus from spreading. There have been cases of businesses hurting badly. That cannot be denied. Added to that, foreigners on visitor visas and visa-exempt stamps are definitely feeling the effects of the borders being closed to non-foreign residents.

However, on the whole, life here is far more normal compared to the rest of the world.

Final Thoughts

At one time, I thought Taiwan needed the world, and it ignored Taiwan. The one time the world needed Taiwan, they ignored this democratic island to listen to an authoritative government that is infamous for lying about figures pertaining to pandemics.

Now the world is suffering.

I only hope that because of the COVID-19, Taiwan may finally get the recognition it deserves among the international community and that the CCP can finally be called out for its absolute ineptitude at dealing with a crisis, and how their influence can harm the world, and their own people.