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Taiwan didn’t weld anyone’s doors shut, though, or even have lockdowns. The “us” culture here is just that people don’t come up with insane, I’m-smarter-than-th

Taiwan didn’t weld anyone’s doors shut, though, or even have lockdowns. The “us” culture here is just that people don’t come up with insane, I’m-smarter-than-the-experts conspiracy beliefs. The government says wear masks in public and people do it, because the simplest interpretation is that the government is trying to prevent an epidemic. The guy who recently caused the only local transmission in over 250 days is probably the most hated man in Taiwan right now because he selfishly disregarded the health of others in order to enjoy himself. In the US, he’d just be behaving like the average person. I also believe that most of the Taiwan model’s success is thanks to smart policies and responsible governance, but there is something to be said for the cultural aspect, and it’s not a totalitarian hellhole sacrificing a few by welding them in their homes to save the many.

makeset 6y ago
> smart policies and responsible governance Agreed, they certainly have some people in charge with their heads screwed on right. From October's NPR interview [1] with "digital minister" Audrey Tang (of myriad Perl fame): > There was a case when a worker in an intimate drinking bar was diagnosed with COVID. She did not initially review the contact because of, you know, professional requirements. But, of course, that will hurt the reliable information requirement for contact tracing. And we did not, however, do any top-down, shutdown, takedown, lockdown of those places. > But rather, the people in the CECC, because they already had extensive prior experience working with HIV-positive communities - so they designed what we call a real contact system. So as long as people can be effective contacted and also social distancing requirements are met, no data is sent to the central government. And so they develop creative approaches such as leaving codenames, single-use email, pre-paid mobile phone numbers, hats with the plastic chuting to maintain physical distancing. And then they reopened." [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/10/12/923066322/digital-minister-on-taiwans-handling-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic https://www.npr.org/2020/10/12/923066322/digital-minister-on...

makeset 6y ago

> smart policies and responsible governance Agreed, they certainly have some people in charge with their heads screwed on right. From October's NPR interview [1] with "digital minister" Audrey Tang (of myriad Perl fame): > There was a case when a worker in an intimate drinking bar was diagnosed with COVID. She did not initially review the contact because of, you know, professional requirements. But, of course, that will hurt the reliable information requirement for contact tracing. And we did not, however, do any top-down, shutdown, takedown, lockdown of those places. > But rather, the people in the CECC, because they already had extensive prior experience working with HIV-positive communities - so they designed what we call a real contact system. So as long as people can be effective contacted and also social distancing requirements are met, no data is sent to the central government. And so they develop creative approaches such as leaving codenames, single-use email, pre-paid mobile phone numbers, hats with the plastic chuting to maintain physical distancing. And then they reopened." [1] https://www.npr.org/2020/10/12/923066322/digital-minister-on-taiwans-handling-of-the-coronavirus-pandemic https://www.npr.org/2020/10/12/923066322/digital-minister-on...