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Coronavirus pandemic
ChinaPolitics

Taiwan rewards health minister Chen Shih-chung’s coronavirus success story

  • The Taiwanese pandemic response has been one of the best in the world and the public is giving credit to one man
  • Professionals and public praise calm, informative style and occasional displays of humour

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Taiwan’s health minister Chen Shih-chung is regarded as something of a hero on the self-ruled for his handling of the Covid-19 crisis. Photo: CNA
Lawrence Chung
There is a saying which has become popular in Taiwan during the coronavirus pandemic: “If you go clockwise, you will win, if you go anticlockwise, you will lose.” It is a wordplay that pays tribute to Health Minister Chen Shih-chung, a man widely regarded as being responsible for the island’s success in containing the disease.
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“Shih-chung” is similar to the word for “clock” in Chinese, so the saying means, follow Chen’s instructions and survive, ignore them at your peril. Chen has been leading Taiwan’s response since his appointment to run the Central Epidemic Command Centre in January.

With more than 3 million Covid-19 infections worldwide, Taiwan – which has reported just 429 cases and six deaths since January 21 – is one of the few places in the world to have kept the pandemic at bay. As of Friday, there had been no new cases in Taiwan for six consecutive days and no local transmission for 19 days in a row.

Most Taiwanese credit Chen’s swift response, timely orders and frank communications for sparing them the thousands of deaths they feared they might have suffered because of the island’s position just off the southeast coast of mainland China.

Chen’s daily briefings have become must-see events for many Taiwanese. Photo: AFP
Chen’s daily briefings have become must-see events for many Taiwanese. Photo: AFP
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“In addition to watching his daily briefing at 2pm, I sometimes call up the health minister before I go to bed because I am so anxious to learn about the number of confirmed cases to be announced the next day,” Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen told reporters on Wednesday.

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