Opinion | Covid-19 surge will test Taiwan’s resilience to pressure from Beijing

Name: Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections
Uploaded: 2021-05-19T19:30:12.000Z
Duration: 1 min 39 s
Description: Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections

The coronavirus outbreak, coupled with power outages and water shortages, has turned Taipei’s attention inward, making it increasingly vulnerable to Chinese military activity

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Shoppers check almost empty shelves as they rush to buy grocery essentials in a supermarket in Taipei on May 17. Photo: EPA-EFE

Liam Gibson

Published: 3:30am, 20 May 2021Updated: 3:30am, 20 May 2021

Staring down growing external threats across the Taiwan Strait, the last thing Taipei needs is a Covid-19 outbreak to shake its domestic scene. Yet, that is exactly what is unfolding, and the timing could not be worse.

As Taiwan’s attention turns inward to manage the new outbreak and a string of infrastructure disruptions, it will be increasingly vulnerable to continued pressure from Beijing.

Taiwan’s previous deft pandemic response and domestic infrastructure stability have underpinned its resilience in handling increased Chinese threats and territorial incursions. Yet, surging Covid-19 cases, combined with power outages and dwindling water supplies, mean the coming weeks could be the greatest stress test Taipei has faced all year.

With 333 new cases on Monday, 245 on Tuesday, and 267 domestic cases on Wednesday, Taiwan faces its biggest Covid-19 outbreak. The government has raised the alert to tier 3 of the four-tier system for the entire island.

Given the pace of spreading infections, Lee Ping-ing of the Central Epidemic Command Centre has predicted cases could reach 3,000 within a month if effective measures aren’t swiftly taken. With the government changing conditions required to trigger Level 4 restrictions, lockdown-equivalent measures may be inevitable.

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Panic buying in Taiwan as new Covid-19 rules imposed amid spike in coronavirus infections

Vaccination roll-outs are accelerating, but with one of the lowest vaccination rates in the developed world Taiwan has to catch up fast. It is racing to develop its own vaccine, but it will not be available until late July, according to last week’s announcement by President Tsai Ing-wen.

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.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} The coronavirus outbreak, coupled with power outages and water shortages, has turned Taipei’s attention inward, making it increasingly vulnerable to Chinese military activity

The coronavirus outbreak, coupled with power outages and water shortages, has turned Taipei’s attention inward, making it increasingly vulnerable to Chinese military activity