Wisdom of TAIPEI Act in Time of Coronavirus
Amidst the prevalent crisis of COVID-19, a bill called “Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act,” introduced by Senator Cory Gardner of Colorado, was signed into law by President Donald Trump on March 26. At first sight, a global pandemic that causes tens of thousands of deaths seems irrelevant to a U.S. law that supports Taiwan’s broader international space. Yet the TAIPEI Act can be the harbinger of the opportunities both for Taiwan and for the world to work collectively to resolve global challenges regardless of the Chinese interference of Realpolitik.
There has been a debate between China and the U.S. on which side is the real origin of COVID-19 in recent weeks. Nevertheless, the People’s Republic of China (PRC) has run a successful global narrative campaign against Taiwan for decades to shrink the island’s international space to achieve the “ultimate unification.” Since Taiwan’s departure from the United Nations in 1971, the PRC has conducted an overall blockade of Taiwan from most international organizations, including the World Health Organization (WHO). To join those international organizations that do not require members’ statehood, Taiwan is forced to accept alternative names like “Chinese Taipei.” For Taiwan’s delegates to be present in the annual World Health Assembly (WHA), Taiwan has to accept the precondition that Taiwan is part of China. With its recent economic rise, PRC uses its global influence to export its “One China Principle” by forcing private corporations to refer to Taiwan as part of China with the threat of sanctions. It is the mindset of the PRC leadership to put politics above the wellbeing of the entire humanity when Taiwan has developed into a responsible member of the international community capable and willing to contribute to the world.
The TAIPEI Act is a good example of the U.S. efforts to include Taiwan in the global governance system. As the chairperson of the Subcommittee on East Asia, The Pacific and International Cybersecurity Policy in the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations, Sen. Gardner has supported legislation promoting Taiwan’s international space and defense. The Asia Reassurance Initiative Act (ARIA) signed into law by President Trump in 2018 reaffirms U.S. commitment to Taiwan’s security, demands regular U.S. arms sales to Taiwan, and encourages travel of high-level U.S. officials to Taiwan. After El Salvador and other countries cut their official diplomatic ties with Taiwan, Sen. Gardner introduced the first version of the TAIPEI Act in September 2018 that contains strong language like “adjustment of United States assistance to nations taking actions to undermine Taiwan.” The current version of the TAIPEI Act provides the carrot and stick for the U.S. government to consider “increasing” its engagement with nations that strengthens their relations with Taiwan and “altering” engagement with countries whose actions “undermine the security or prosperity of Taiwan.” In line with Sen. Gardner’s previous legislation like Taiwan International Participation Act, the TAIPEI Act also asks for U.S. representatives in all international organizations to use the “voice, vote, and influence” to advocate Taiwan’s membership or observer status in these organizations.
The Taiwan-U.S. relations have seen its best in recent years since the end of the bilateral official diplomatic relations in 1979. It is embodied not only in the phone call between then-U.S. President-elect Trump and Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016 but also in various policies and legislation. The cabinet-level meetings have become more common in individual visits and cooperation occasions like the Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF). In addition to Sen. Gardner’s ARIA and TAIPEI Act, the Taiwan Travel Act enacted in 2018 encourages the mutual visits by top officials from the U.S. and Taiwan. The Taiwan Assurance Act that passed the House last year, the Taiwan Envoy Act, and the Taiwan Symbols of Sovereignty (SOS) Act all aim to strengthen the normalizing Taiwan-U.S. relations. These results can be attributed to the joint efforts by the Taiwanese government and the Taiwanese American grassroots movement by the Formosan Association for Public Affairs (FAPA).
For a long time, the movement of Taiwan’s participation in international organizations is deemed of more symbolic implication rather than of substance considering the island nation’s eagerness of gaining international recognition. Seeing the current global spread of COVID-19, it is evident that Taiwan can play a critical role in the universal battle against the pandemic. Taiwan has one of the lowest daily growth rates of COVID-19 confirmed cases in the world as a result of the functioning of Taiwan’s existing medical infrastructure and National Health Insurance which have been widely praised around the globe. When facing the impending coronavirus threat, the close public-private partnership in Taiwan enhanced Taiwan’s readiness in disease control through doubling face mask production, expediting vaccine and testing development, developing systems for tracing patients’ travel histories, face mask rationing, and even tracking mask supplies in local pharmacies. Taiwan’s experience has garnered applause from world leaders like the Prime Ministers Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel and Jacinda Ardern of New Zealand who showed interest in introducing the “Taiwan model” in their countries. On March 4, the President of Palau Tommy Remengesau released a statement thanking Taiwan for its assistance in Palau’s disease prevention.
Besides, the forward deployment of disease prevention and control conducted by the Taiwanese government is key to suppress the spread of the coronavirus. Just like the spokesperson of the U.S. Department of State Morgan Ortagus revealed, Taiwan reported to International Health Regulations (IHR) under WHO the potential human-to-human coronavirus transmission of the later known COVID-19 as early as December 31, 2019. On January 20, nine days before President Trump’s formation of the President’s Coronavirus Task Force, Taiwan activated the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) as an interdepartmental platform for resources coordination and information sharing. On January 23, Taiwan banned all the flights from Wuhan, 10 days ahead of South Korea. While WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus maintained that widespread travel bans are “not needed to beat coronavirus” on February 3, Taiwan imposed a travel ban on China on February 6, more than a month ahead of Japan. Health and law enforcement authorities in Taiwan also efficiently trace the contacts of confirmed cases and strictly implement mandatory quarantine for travelers from affected areas with proper compensation. With the travel history connected to every citizen’s health insurance data, doctors can see if a patient has a history of visiting areas affected by the COVID-19.
The goal of the TAIPEI Act of maintaining and broadening Taiwan’s basis of formal diplomatic allies can thus contribute to the purpose of including Taiwan in international organizations, especially the WHO. Indisputably, Taiwan’s major security allies and trade partners are world powerhouses like the United States, Japan, South Korea, and major European economies. In 2019, the share of trade amount between Taiwan and its 15 official allies only accounts for 0.12% of Taiwan’s total trade when the U.S. alone accounts for 13.19%. Also in 2019, tourists from these allies only constituted of 0.07% of all the tourists around the world visiting Taiwan when 18.27% of tourists in Taiwan were from Japan. These allies, however, have been the biggest advocates of Taiwan’s observer status in the WHA and WHO. For instance, Luke Browne, the Minister of Health, Wellness, and the Environment of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, advocated for Taiwan’s observer status in WHA in 2019 which is “in the interest of the health and welfare of the 23 million people of the world located in Taiwan and universal health coverage.” During the WHO Executive Board meeting on COVID-19 disease control this February, eight of Taiwan’s 15 official diplomatic allies voiced their support for Taiwan’s participation in WHO. With the long-term support from these official allies, the foundation of advocates for Taiwan’s presence in WHO has expanded to those unofficial allies. Prime Ministers Shinzo Abe of Japan and Justin Trudeau of Canada publicly support Taiwan’s inclusion in WHO in January to combat COVID-19. In the February WHO Executive Board meeting, delegates from the United States, Japan, and the European Union also echoed Taiwan’s official allies for a more significant role Taiwan can play in WHO.
Taiwan’s enthusiasm for joining the WHO is not only for pursuing the world’s recognition of the island’s proper international status but also for the wish to make a contribution to the world just like other partners made to Taiwan. During the 2003 SARS crisis, WHO closed its door to Taiwan’s participation due to the boycott by China. Without the most updated WHO information, Taiwan missed the opportunity to quarantine potential SARS cases. In 2003, Taiwan was the third most SARS-inflicted region in the world, after China and Hong Kong, with 664 confirmed SARS cases and 73 deaths. However, the virus information shared by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the exchanges of experts between the two sides significantly enhanced Taiwan’s understanding and readiness of the disease. Today, Taiwan has developed a world-class quality of its health care system. To share its experience with the public health experts around the world, Taiwan’s delegation has held numerous bilateral meetings outside the annual WHA meetings in Geneva. On March 18, Taiwan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu and the Director of American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Brent Christensen, the de facto U.S. ambassador to Taiwan, signed a joint statement to initiate joint development and production programs of testing gears, vaccines, and medicine for COVID-19. In the foreseeable future, Taiwan will donate 100,000 face masks to the U.S. every week while the U.S. reserves 300,000 hazmat suits for Taiwan in exchange. Right after the release of the Taiwan-U.S. Joint Statement, the EU also announced a collaboration plan with Taiwan’s national research institute in testing gear and vaccine development.
On April 1, President Tsai announced that Taiwan will donate 10 million face masks to countries hit hardest by COVID-19. Among them, 2 million will be shipped to the U.S. and 100,000 to Colorado whose Senator introduced the TAIPEI Act. On the same day, Taiwan signed a joint statement with Czechia similar to the one with the U.S. for combating the coronavirus. In addition, Taiwan donates 25 ventilators to Czechia with 9 to Prague which just became Taipei’s sister earlier this year despite the pressure from China. The international support for Taiwan pays off.
Taiwan’s resilient democracy, vibrant economy, open society, and high living standards have been the success story to many other countries in the world. With the slogan “Taiwan Can Help,” Taiwan wishes to contribute to the world especially when facing the common hardship of coronavirus spread. The TAIPEI Act can not only upgrade the U.S. efforts in maintaining Taiwan’s official allies to advocate Taiwan’s participation in international organizations, it also directs the U.S. commitment to such a goal. Despite China’s self-indulgent political consideration, it is time for the world to work with Taiwan to address the challenges ahead in the spirit of pragmatism.
