Coordinated Mobilization Matters: How Did Taiwan Do It During the Covid-19 Pandemic?

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic hit the world hard. Ensnared by a large-scale emergency unprecedented in recent history, mobilization, the classic issue of emergency management, is under stress and test. Yet Taiwan stands out in its rather limited cases of infections despite its frequent contact with mainland China and high population density. Could its mobilization have made the difference? This article traces the steps and strategies that Taiwan took to implement a coordinated mobilization. Three strategies were highlighted: awareness mobilization by declaring emergency early on, resource mobilization by preemptively controlling, boldly incentivizing and surgically distributing resources, and agility mobilization via big data and technology to optimize the response system.