Taiwan’s Social Policy Response to Covid-19: Protecting Workers, Reviving the Economy

Taiwan has benefited from her timely response to the Covid-19 pandemic outbreak, which has limited the extent of economic and social damage the virus could have inflicted. Unlike many countries, economic activities and social lives in Taiwan have remained above water; and have shown signs of rebounding in recent months. Past experiences with public health crises such as SARS have offered valuable lessons for the government to cope with similar pandemic threats. Effective countermeasures have created favourable circumstances for the government to deploy social policy as a safety net. Almost all the major responses are of a temporary nature, and a programmatic extension of the existing social security institutions (e.g., social assistance and specific in-cash benefits targeted at specific occupational or population groups). In addition, the government granted financial support to those enterprises in difficulties to disincentivize them from dismissing their employees. All these measures have largely offset the adverse consequences of the pandemic crisis. Against this backdrop, Taiwan should be amongst those countries to recover first from the pandemic shock.