Policies Tackling the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Sociopolitical Perspective from Taiwan

As people around the world anxiously watched the early development of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, they expected Taiwan be one of the hardest-hit countries. Yet, to the surprise of many onlookers, the country has managed to keep severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 at bay. Taiwan has taken decisive actions to prevent spread of the virus since the very beginning of the epidemic. While the fight is still ongoing, we provide an overview of major policies and strategies undertaken in Taiwan to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic, analyzing them from a sociopolitical perspective. We found that the centralized and professional leadership, democratic and accountable political culture, and vibrant civil society and broad social participation are the key features of disease control in Taiwan.