During the COVID-19 pandemic, Taoyuan City has robustly deployed technology to promote global urban diplomacy. From November 12, 2020 to January 13, 2021, we successively worked with seven municipal leaders worldwide by video talks including Ms. Markéta Vaňková, Mayor of Brno City in the Czech Republic, Mr. Thomas Richard Tate, Mayor of City of Gold Coast in Australia, Ms. Lou Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam in the U.S., Mr. Morita Kensaku, Chiba Prefecture Governor in Japan, Mr. Curt Hagman, Chairman of San Bernardino County, California in the U.S., Mr. Christophe Ferrari, President of Grenoble-Alpes Métropole in France, and Mr. Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of the City of Newark, New Jersey in the U.S. Mr. Hsieh Shih-Chien, Chairman of China Airlines and Mr. Glenn Chai, Chief Executive Officer of Starlux Airlines joined and shared about their respective aviation industry experiences, forecasting the city in the post-pandemic era and commercial development and unfolding the blueprint of following exchanges.

Lou Leon Guerrero, Governor of Guam in the U.S., who resorted to strict epidemic prevention guidelines to avoid the risks of cluster infections.

Pandemic prevention experience sharing, with continuing prudent responses

Taiwan combats the pandemic with democratic, high tech and civilized approaches. Our preventive efforts have seen deployment from entry to the nation at the airport which we have a strict approach to prevent spread, through cooperation with our hospitals and ensuring collaboration in our communities. We thus have built a three-tiered process to ensure the country’s protection. Regardless of their nationality, every visitor upon arrival must be isolated for fourteen days, with tracking measures including travel history, occupation, history of contact exposure and clustering (TOCC), and mobile phone positioning systems to ensure that no one violates their quarantine, to prevent spread of the epidemic, and ensure implementation of our precision pandemic prevention. Taoyuan is the gateway to Taiwan. When facing such a severe pandemic, we must strictly guard the country through a three-tier epidemic prevention network of borders, medical care institutions and system, and our communities. The city government's pandemic prevention meetings also intensely monitor the pandemic status quo, while accurately grasping information to efficaciously implement pandemic prevention measures.

As a key city for Taiwan’s electronics and textile industries, Taoyuan deployed early prevention measures at the outbreak of pandemic and gathered several face mask production lines as a " national team" to fight against the epidemic. As domestic supplement of face mask, personal protective equipment and medical materiel is sufficient, we also supported our sister cities around the world, including the United States, Japan, Australia, the Netherlands, Hungary, and the Marshall Islands. In terms of medical treatment, as early as February 2020, the Taoyuan isolation wards, health care workers, personal protective equipment, and respirators were all deployed and prepared. With 11 emergency hospitals in the city jointly dispatched, Taoyuan has handled more than 20% of patients nationwide assuming major responsibilities as the global gateway of the country. Meanwhile, Taoyuan health, civil affairs, social welfare and police units are also focusing on community infection control, leading the country in community prevention exercises, long-term care institution and pandemic prevention drills. We have also established more than 26 quarantine hotels and 57 reassuring accommodations for family members of individuals in home isolation or quarantine to prevent possible breaches of community pandemic outbreaks.

All the localities we have engaged with are cooperating with national policies to strictly prevent introduction or spread of the pandemic. Brno City in the Czech Republic has followed their national epidemic prevention measures, including wearing masks in public places, deploying curfew, restrictions on leisure activities, adopting distance learning in schools, colleges and universities, the prohibition of alcohol in public places, closing retail store, and only takeaway in restaurant. The US territory of Guam is requiring people to wear masks, maintain social distance, and closing some business premises. After restaurants, bars, and churches were reopened, further strict epidemic prevention guidelines are issued, such as prohibiting dining inside restaurants and no more than five people gathering in social situations. More than one million persons have already been screened in San Bernardino County, California, and another 1,000 people per day are scheduled for screening. Their pandemic prevention teams provide personal protective equipment for medical institutions, help schools curb spread of cases, and track confirmed cases every day through contact history while ensuring isolation at home. The City of Newark in the U.S. requires citizens to wear masks, keep social distance, and has helped homeless people move into vacant hotels.

Marketa Vaňkova, Mayor of Brno, Czech Republic, shares about campus distance learning experiences.
 

Pandemic data for various countries.

Industrial revitalization stimulus and relief to protect the urban economy

Taiwan’s central government rolled out a two-phase bailout project of over NT$1.5 trillion, and offers 40% salary subsidies for full-time employees in industries affected by the pandemic, including manufacturing, international trade, services, and exhibitions. Taoyuan provides cuts for affected industries in house tax, vehicle license tax, amusement tax, and land value tax. Deposits and royalty rates are also reduced for operators of facilities to help companies get through their difficulties. As for individuals, Taoyuan has launched an emergency relief plan benefiting nearly 50,000 people. In the labor relief program, nearly 100,000 people received a relief fund of NT$30,000. We also launched a short-term interest-free loan of NT$100,000 for emergency relief needs. In addition, the central government has issued a triple stimulus voucher of NT$3,000 per person, of which more than 97% have been redeemed to date. Taoyuan has also launched additional discounts aiming at ameliorating tourist factories, leisure farms, and hotel accommodations to help Taoyuan hotels attract more domestic tourists and revitalize the tourism industry chain.

Major cities worldwide have also spared no effort for relief and revitalization. Gold Coast City in Queensland, Australia is benefiting from their federal government infusion of A$213 billion to promote the economy and the state government is offering A$4 billion to assist families and the public for early pension withdrawal; in cities, taxes are being exempted, with restaurants not required to pay taxes, and some fines are also being waived. Chiba Prefecture in Japan has held the "With Chiba together" to promote revitalization of tourism, agriculture, forestry and aquaculture sales, cultural events, also travel coupons to citizens, and promote sales through exhibitions. France’s Grenoble Alpes Metropolitan is suspending collection of tourist taxes and road taxes/tolls, while helping the unemployed return to workplace, and aiding single parents or struggling women, with more than ten thousand households assisted to date, and provided each household with a water allowance of sixty-six euros.

Christophe Ferrari, Chairman of the Grenoble Alps Metropolitan in France, looks forward to inviting Taoyuan to participate in the 2022 European Green City series activities when the pandemic slows down.

Aerotropolis Issues: Keeping the Pandemic under Control. Keeping the Economy Open

Taoyuan is home to Taiwan’s largest international airport, playing a critical role in border pandemic prevention, including through pandemic prevention hotels, hospitals, vehicle fleets, and quarantine centers. Taoyuan is also a distribution center for the global air cargo industry. After the pandemic hindered the flow of international passengers, freight has become a main source of airline income, and overall cargo volume has been growing steadfastly. In the face of the severe international pandemic, total investment by Taiwanese entrepreneurs repatriating capital from abroad has exceeded NT$230 billion. Taoyuan launched a one-stop service platform to address problems related to land, water, electricity, talents, and labor. The total investments from these Taiwanese businessmen in Taoyuan has accounted for more than 20 % of the nationwide total of repatriated capital. Taiwan’s economic performance in 2020 was exceptional, with the first full three quarters GDP enjoying a growth rate of up to 3.92%, with exports in diverse industries experiencing positive growth after September, and the electronics industry undergoing tremendous sectoral growth of 30%, so it can be said that defending against the pandemic is defending our economy.

As an aerotropolis, to stimulate demand for domestic flights, Japan’s Chiba Prefecture has joined hands with Narita Airport to cooperate with surrounding areas, destinations, local governments, and airlines to urgently implement preferential measures, such as making local specialties at destinations as prizes to assist in tourism promotion. San Bernardino County, US, established a pandemic prevention working group at the beginning of the epidemic, and provided relief funds for small and medium-sized enterprises through their Corporate Pandemic Prevention Partner Program. Ontario Airport in the county was hit hard by air transport in the first half of last year, but now the airport is enjoying the second fastest recovery in terms of volume in the US, and its freight volume has hit record highs every month throughout the year!

Curt Hagman, Chairman of San Bernardino County, County Supervisor Dawn Rowe and Taoyuan Mayor Cheng Wen-tsan, exchanged pandemic prevention countermeasures and Taiwan’s experience.

Seventy-five percent of passengers at the Gold Coast airport in Australia come for leisure and sightseeing. Since November 13 of last year, Australia’s borders have been reopened. It is estimated that the recovery growth rate in passengers within two months will rise from only 3 % during the pandemic to a level of 90% from before the pandemic. The U.S. territory of Guam cannot completely seal its borders, but they have enforced mandatory quarantines among passengers entering Guam in places provided by the government or at home. The City of Newark in New Jersey, US, also has an international airport which each year receives 50-60 million visitors. It has continued to strengthen prevention measures after pandemic outbreak, including requiring wearing masks and implementation of social distance, as it actively fights against the pandemic.

Baraka Ras J. Baraka, Mayor of Newark in New Jersey, US, believes Taoyuan and Newark share a lot in common, and as transportation hubs and smart cities they can enjoy diverse exchanges.

International city exchanges in the post-pandemic era

Continuing from our past experience and achievements, Taoyuan will continue to promote global urban diplomacy following the popularization of vaccines and the wide re-opening of the country’s borders, with strengthening of exchanges in various aspects including smart cities, airport operations, freight, logistics, tourism, culture, education, medical care and industry. Taoyuan could cooperate with international cities and build stable and solid partnerships together.
 

Have you read?

♦ Taipei's Survival Story: Our Battle Against COVID-19
♦ How Taiwan's COVID Battle is Different
♦ Pandemic in a Willingly Prepared Society

Uploaded by Penny Chiang