How Did Taiwan Go from ‘Most Affected’ during sars to ‘Least Affected’ during covid-19?

Abstract

Taiwan was one of the places most affected by sars in 2003—but one of the least affected by covid-19 in the first year of the pandemic. Taiwan deployed a centralised approach and has been able to effectively eliminate the threat of the spread of covid-19 through swift decisions and effective action. This paper compares and evaluates the Taiwanese government’s emergency responses to two health crises: sars in 2003 and covid-19 in 2020. The policy responses to both are mapped out on easily comprehensible timelines. The study also explores how one crisis governance influences another—how the mishandling of the sars outbreak influenced early governmental responses to covid-19. These are described in more detail, divided into thematic sections, and accompanied by illustrative images.