President Tsai Ing-wen says Taiwan’s experience in containing the new coronavirus or COVID-19 is worth sharing with the world. Taiwan has 22 confirmed COVID-19 cases. Tsai was speaking Tuesday while meeting with three Permanent Representatives to the United Nations from allied countries.
Tsai’s comments came after 242 of the 247 Taiwanese who were on the first charter flight from Wuhan were released from quarantine Tuesday morning. Of the five who were not released, one is a confirmed case and four are in the hospital. Tsai spoke about Taiwan’s experience:
“This morning, the first group of Taiwanese who returned from the Chinese city of Wuhan has been released from quarantine. It’s good to learn that they are in good health. Our concerns for them will continue and we will encourage them to continue monitoring their own health. Containing the disease is like fighting a war since it requires cooperation between the government and the people. [We] want to thank them for their support as their cooperation enables us to [curb the spread.] I also think Taiwan’s experience is worth sharing with the world," said Tsai.
Tsai also accused the World Health Organization of excluding Taiwan from the global health body due to political factors. She said politics shouldn’t take precedence over health as epidemic prevention is a global issue and Taiwan is on the front line of containing COVID-19.