US Assistant Secretary of State Robert Destro says that Taiwan leads the Indo-Pacific region in responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. Destro was speaking Wednesday during a virtual workshop on combating COVID-19 disinformation.
The workshop was organized by the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, a platform jointly administered by Taiwan, the United States and Japan. The framework allows Taiwan to share its expertise with partners around the world.
About 80 officials, scholars, and NGO workers from six countries in the Indo-Pacific region attended the virtual workshop.
In his opening remarks, Destro said “it is no secret that Taiwan is leading the Indo-Pacific region in its handling of COVID-19. You are serving as an inspiration for the world, and we are grateful for your leadership. All of us are learning from the Taiwan Model – a fact that underscores that democracies have the clear upper hand over authoritarian regimes when it comes to fighting this virus."
Destro also accused China of covering up the COVID-19 outbreak in its early stages, suppressing press freedom, and gagging whistleblowers.