One little-reported but significant side story to the coronavirus crisis is how much Taiwan has grown as an important ally to the U.S. in the fight against Covid-19.
In just the last month, President Tsai Ing-wen announced that Taiwan will donate ten million masks to countries affected by the virus. The U.S. will receive 100,000 masks on a weekly basis as well as an additional 2 million masks for American health care workers on the front lines.
These developments are poignant, since it was not long ago that official U.S. government documents would not mention Taiwan and top officials of its government in Taipei were denied visas to the U.S.
Much of this has changed dramatically since the election of Donald Trump. When he was president-elect in 2016, Trump made an unprecedented move by accepting a call with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen. The two then had what aides called a “cordial” conversation.
In the meantime, relations between Taiwan and the World Health Organization (WHO) remain strained.
While issuing a statement on March 29 recognizing the importance of Taiwan in the fight against Covid-19, the United Nations-run WHO has nevertheless excluded the island nation from its membership.
“[Despite] having a world-class medical and public health system, [Taiwan] has long been excluded from the [WHO],” wrote William Foreman, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Taipei, “That’s because Beijing believes the self-ruled, democratic island is part of China and tries to isolate it from the rest of the world.”
Foreman noted that the Taiwanese have "exceeded international standards” by testing those thought to be infected three times. Moreover, daily public service briefings are conducted by Vice Pesident Chen Chien-jen, who has degrees in genetics and epidiemology from Johns Hopkins University.
With a population of 23.78 million, Taiwan has had only 325 reported cases of coronavirus--most of them imported.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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