I attribute #Taiwan ’s success to the following factors: 1) TW's success hinges greatly on enough mask supply and mask policy very early on. The developmental state setup helped solve the coordination problem for mask policy; /2

2) the developmental state legacy also paved the foundation of digital governance for effective policy implementation; 3) democracy underpins a strong state-society relation favoring transparency and communication, leading to quicker self-correction and greater compliance. /3

Unlike others arguing that TW's success can be attributed to the #SARS experience, I argue otherwise. SARS benefits TW in 1) updated institutional framework for future epidemic outbreak, 2) seasoned technocrats, but we shouldn't overemphasize the role of SARS. /4

Why we shouldn't overemphasize the role of SARS: First, other concurrent factors (i.e., exclusion from WHO and low trust between TW and China) would also lead to quick policy responses. Second, #COVID19 is different and still evolving. Past experiences would not be adequate. /5

@CNN 's coverage of Taiwan's handling of #COVID19 COVID /6

@FareedZakaria interviewed #Taiwan formal vice president who is a Johns Hopkins trained epidemiologist. /7

Overall, TW is an important case showing it is not just state capacity that matters. The type of state, esp the political economy aspect, matters more. Democracy matters too, but not in creating better or efficient responses. It helps self-correct quicker when things go wrong. /8

@poscwty @CNN @FareedZakaria No miracle about it. It's called a functioning government combined with civic engagement. In a sentence: this is what democracy looks like