Data Revision: Our Humanity During Taiwan’s COVID-19 Outbreak

This is a translation from the original 校正回歸：疫情下的人性失真 by Chan Yu (詹宇), an author and freelance designer. Originally published by Voicettank. Translation by Lingsan Sher.

They were a wall that separated Taiwan’s normal life from the rest of the world, but now after surviving for over a year this lonely wall is on the ropes.

On May 15, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Taiwan surpassed one hundred. Since then, every day has brought a shocking new increase in infections. Then on the 22nd, the head of Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) “retroactively added” 400 cases to already-announced numbers in previous days. 

His explanation was immediately understood by the mayors of Taipei City and New Taipei City, the two most severely infected areas, as well as supported by several mainstream media outlets citing similar practices from other countries. Nonetheless, the belief that “revising past numbers is just wrong” was the wind that helped flamed the fires of distrust.

In the eyes of some people, data revision was a chance of undermining the government, as memes flooded the internet. But they are nothing more than frivolous ignorance. As sleep-deprived lab technicians faced down ever growing stacks of specimens, the memes only served to make our frontline workers feel more helpless. 

Someone on my social media feed angrily pointed out that it was negligence on the part of the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), and the rapid change in the number of confirmed cases had become a joke among the international society. I reposted two unofficial explanations of data revision, but they were totally unable to calm him down. While I read his responses, I seem to hear a faint echo of “I’ll believe what I want to believe.” 

I had never heard of the phrase data revision, but I was willing to learn it, like gaining some knowledge. It was a shame that not everybody thinks like that, and some people blindly believed that the CECC was cheating or covering the truth. Some even complained about the wording itself. But this is a serious matter. The point is that data revision helps us see that our medical resources and testing procedures are not effectively fighting the abrupt outbreak of COVID-19 cases yet, that CECC should review and improve its procedures, and people should not rush to get tested out of fear, which puts strain on our medical systems. 

After the simple fact has been blurred and twisted there is distrust, which leads to opposite interpretations of the same truth.

Before data revision, I noticed the “cumulative number of pending tests” was increasing every day when I was watching political talk shows. In addition to the announcement of confirmed cases during the press conference, the CECC could also announce the number of people being tested and how many tests are being performed each day, and explain that results will be delayed due to the sudden increase in tests but the results will be reported “as of the testing date.” The data might not come out at once, but the explanation of the situation could be announced ahead in order to quell some doubts.

Sudden, large increase of domestic cases has overwhelmed the CECC. The earlier preventive measures seem to be replaced by fixing things in hindsight. 

“Look, world, Taiwan will only demonstrate once how to end Level 3 restrictions in two weeks.” This slogan showed how much confidence, even nostalgia, the Taiwanese people have towards the earlier success of preventing the epidemic. After we went into Level 3 restrictions, many people reposted this slogan to console one another. But the truth is: look, Taiwan, the world has demonstrated many times this pandemic is a prolonged war.

Taiwan’s success in preventing an epidemic in the past was not based on luck, but on our vigilance. This wave of outbreak was also caused by the government and the society’s lapse in vigilance. The central and local government had prepared for over a year, but the outbreak of the epidemic reflected that the preparation might not be enough in many areas such as vaccinations, medical resources, and education. 

After Level 3 restrictions were in place, some selfish, poorly disciplined people not only caused a waste of society’s resources, but also raised the risk of epidemic and affecting other disciplined people as a whole. We say that “the most beautiful scenery in Taiwan is the people,” but perhaps our true colors had been revealed during the outbreak.

Mount Hehuan (合歡山) and Wuling Pavilion (武嶺亭) were still crowded before they were closed, and there were still many gathering and people without masks. In contrast, there were also ward chiefs who organized “Food Packages” offering bread, grain rations, canned food, and the like to disadvantaged families. Charity from all parts of Taiwan had gathered in Wanhua (萬華), which is one of the epicenters of the outbreak.

After the increase of domestic cases, the true risk factors might be human nature and the way people think, which is strongly related to civic literacy and political ideology. Once our infection control was breached, Cognitive Warfare began. Different from simple, misleading information, the comprehensive manipulation of knowledge and information is more sophisticated. Disinformation is carefully packaged with words that seem to add logic and reason and eschew political partisanship. These writings seemed convincing, but they actually were meant to cause confusion and the concealment of the truth. Cognitive Warfare may not be necessarily trying to persuade people of a certain opinion, but it sows chaos and distrust, which is more dangerous overall to the health of a civil society.

Our earlier success should not be forgotten, and this battered, lonely fortress we’ve built should be protected by none other than ourselves. Now is not a time to hoard groceries from supermarkets. Instead, now is a time to become a fortress yet again.

Certainly, Taiwan’s COVID-19 success story had been tarnished. We went from “Taiwan can help” to “Taiwan needs help.” I do not care about the foreign press that calls Taiwan “complacent,” but I do worry about Taiwan losing our own way. Failure is not a bad thing, and I look forward to seeing Taiwan turn the page and write a new chapter in our story. The government is responsible for managing the outbreak, but we are all responsible for the success or failure to rise to the challenge. Nobody could flee from this war. After all, as an orphan in the international society, people in Taiwan could not bear the consequences of not staying together ourselves.

(Feature photo from Premier Su Jen-chang’s Facebook Page)