Radio Taiwan International
Date: 24 June, 2020
By: John Van Trieste

Taiwan’s envoy to Canada has shared Taiwan’s experience fighting COVID-19 during a meeting of the Canadian House of Commons’ health committee. This is only the second time a Taiwanese official has been invited to give testimony in the Canadian Parliament in the 50 years since Canada cut formal ties with Taiwan.

Representative Winston Wen-Yi Chen attended Tuesday’s meeting virtually.

Chen said that Taiwan is neither a WHO member nor an observer, and that it has no timely access to key information about global health. However, he said that Taiwan has still managed to fight off COVID-19.

He said this success stems from the lessons Taiwan had to take away from the 2003 SARS outbreak. He said that Taiwan prepared itself for a future epidemic as a result. In addition, he said that Taiwan’s government took quick, decisive action upon learning of the outbreak of pneumonia in Wuhan. Chen said Taiwan began screening arriving passengers on the last day of 2019, over three weeks before Wuhan was put into lockdown.    [FULL  STORY]