Foreign Minister Joseph Wu gave pre-recorded remarks to a US think tank on Thursday. The remarks were played during an online livestream event held by the Hudson Institute focused on Taiwan’s strong response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In his remarks, Wu said that Taiwan remembered the lessons learned during the 2003 SARS crisis. He said that Taiwan began making necessary preparations for the next big disease at all levels of government.
The foreign minister said that the most crucial steps Taiwan took included activating its Central Epidemic Command Center early on, quickly establishing quarantine measures, and increasing the production of medical equipment.
Wu said that information transparency is another key to Taiwan’s successful fight against COVID-19. He said the government’s daily press conferences have kept people informed throughout the pandemic. Wu said that transparency is the key difference between the Taiwanese and the Chinese response to the pandemic.