President Tsai Ing-wen answered a series of questions earlier this year for Cornell Law Forum, the biannual magazine of U.S.-based Cornell University’s Law School, regarding Taiwan’s success in managing COVID-19 and her thoughts on women in leadership roles.
The Q&A interview was conducted for the magazine’s fall 2020 issue—themed “Leading through Adversity”—as part of a series of stories about 10 alumni including Tsai, who obtained her master’s degree from Cornell in 1980.
According to Tsai, a major leadership lesson from the pandemic is the importance of creating a shared sense of purpose among the people, so the public can work together for the common good. Inspiring unity was the real key to Taiwan’s success in combating coronavirus, she said.
Extensive experience from managing other infectious diseases like SARS, H1N1, H7N9 and dengue fever also prepared the country for epidemic prevention, with the requisite procedures and organizations already established for rapid response, Tsai said.
A series of high-level national security meetings was first convened in early January, Tsai said, which decided on measures like creating a comprehensive tracking system for potential cases, ensuring adequate supply of key medical resources and providing timely and transparent information to the public.
The government’s timely actions have helped Taiwan avoid a lockdown to date, she said. Public compliance has followed behind such decisive policymaking, with mask wearing and social distancing willingly practiced up and down the country, she added.
While there have been many reports associating compassion, humanity and collaboration with women, Tsai said effective leadership requires a wide range of character traits and skills that transcend gender. Commentators should attribute Taiwan’s success to the contribution of every member of society, not just the gender of its leader, she added.
As the country’s head of state, Tsai said it is her responsibility to promote woman’s empowerment, adding she hopes one day being a “female president” is no longer noteworthy. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw