Coronavirus outbreak: Don’t blame Taiwan for export ban on face masks

Taiwanese celebrities Dee Hsu and Christine Fan have been slammed on social media for criticising the Taiwan government’s temporary ban on the export of specialised face masks. They thought that such a move was inhumane in view of the great demand in China, which is reeling from an outbreak of the deadly new Wuhan coronavirus, and suspected that the decision was wholly political.

I think that the two celebrities missed the point.

First, the measure is not discriminatory; the export ban applies to all countries, not just China.

Second, Taiwan’s export control on masks aims at stabilising the supply within the region. Hong Kong people should be familiar with similar measures.

In 2013, then chief executive Leung Chun-ying announced his new export control measure for milk formula, whereby cross-border travellers could not carry more than two tins of powder formula when leaving the city. The idea was to ensure that there would be enough supply for our children and to curb parallel trading. The Taiwan government is just doing the same thing to protect their citizens.

Furthermore, if the Taiwan government did not control the export of masks, their price may have surged dramatically due to panic buying and shortages. This is already happening in Tokyo and has been reported in Hong Kong.

The export ban is merely normal trade policy and does not have much to do with politics. Politicising the matter does no good to cross-strait relations.

Anson Chan, North Point

Coronavirus spread shows world must act to protect itself

The spread of the Wuhan coronavirus is disconcerting, and the World Health Organisation has now declared it a global emergency. However, the measures taken and information-sharing initially seemed slow.

It was strange that many residents of Wuhan were still making trips far and wide despite the onset of the disease. How could anyone be sure that they were not infected, when the incubation period can last as long as 14 days?

The Lunar New Year crowds offered the perfect setting for the spread of virus: as one can be a carrier even without showing symptoms. Now that the disease has spread far beyond China, the fallout will be harder to contain.

The contagion goes beyond the physical. People are afraid. Can the culpable be held to account for the havoc wreaked on the world? Should we not have an international framework that ascertains losses suffered by others because of an irresponsible state? Otherwise, we might be emboldening irresponsible acts without punitive consequences.

It is telling that not much has been learned from the Sars outbreak in 2003, when 744 lives were lost around the world. Perhaps, the WHO should have first right of intervention if human lives are threatened on a massive scale even before the numbers bear this out.

China will contain ‘demon’ outbreak, Xi says as death toll mounts

Apart from a country self-reporting a potential epidemic, how else can other countries be warned before an outbreak reaches its shores? It pays to err on the side of caution when human lives are concerned.

It is still early days and the ultimate global impact of this coronavirus outbreak is unclear. But it is never too early to set up institutions and binding rules that will safeguard the 7.7 billion human lives on our planet.

Lee Teck Chuan, Singapore