A return to Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast, and a story that's largely been ignored unless it's to do with the standoff with China itself, which still regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and subject to eventual reunification, peaceful or otherwise. The recent crackdown in Hong Kong has only sharpened the notion that this is no idle threat. So I've been staying in touch with an old journalism colleague, Joyce, who is a Taiwanese expat confined to its embrace since February because of the virus. We've caught up with her a couple of times, and each time I'm intrigued by the fact that I'm asking her quite different questions to those I'm asking friends in other places. I'm trying to figure out why Taiwan has been so successful in combatting Covid-19, and whether there are lessons we can draw.
A return to Taiwan, an island off the Chinese coast, and a story that's largely been ignored unless it's to do with the standoff with China itself, which still regards Taiwan as a renegade province, and subject to eventual reunification, peaceful or otherwise. The recent crackdown in Hong Kong has only sharpened the notion that this is no idle threat. So I've been staying in touch with an old journalism colleague, Joyce, who is a Taiwanese expat confined to its embrace since February because of the virus. We've caught up with her a couple of times, and each time I'm intrigued by the fact that I'm asking her quite different questions to those I'm asking friends in other places. I'm trying to figure out why Taiwan has been so successful in combatting Covid-19, and whether there are lessons we can draw.