The University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Programme

The University of Nottingham's Taiwan Studies Programme and the Taipei Medical University jointly host this year's conference on Public Policy in A Time of Crisis: Comparing British and Taiwanese government responses to Covid-19. 

For more information, see below or go to the Sway link to access the TSP-TMU Joint Conference Programme. 

Covid-19, at the moment of writing this is still at its peak. The challenges presented to our societies are not only for health, and the healthcare system, but also the long-term social and economic impacts on a global scale. The original motivation for this project started from the standpoint of political economy We tried to find an answer to unpack the current impact of the pandemic on societies. We realised that we could not solve this query from a single perspective or by studying one government.

Therefore the Taiwan Studies Programme collaborated with colleagues in Nottingham University Business School (Prof. Stephen Timmons) and from Taipei Medical University. We believe that with our interdisciplinary analytical expertise and cross-country examples, we will be able to present a comprehensive analysis of what government actions have been at the beginning, during and (hopefully) at the end of the pandemic. This analysis is useful for governance in a fast-changing and challenging future.

2021 TSP-TMU Joint Conference: Public Policy in A Time of Crisis: Comparing British and Taiwanese government responses to Covid-19

Day one – Friday 25 June 2021

Panel one: The UK NHS post Covid-19; prospects and problems​

(UK 9-10.45am; Taipei 4-5.45pm)

• Overview of UK experience on the UK NHS post Covid-19 - delivered by Stephen Timmons (Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning, Nottingham University Business School)
• Working in a pandemic: Nursing and studying within a context of Covid-19 - devlivered by Eleanore Dring (Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning, Nottingham University Business School)
• Front-line workers researching front-line workers: Navigating the insider-outsider narrative in a pandemic. A nurses experience - delivered by Nicola Fisher (Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning, Nottingham University Business School)

Break (UK 10.45-11am; Taipei 5.45-6pm)

Panel two: Digital democracy and Covid-19, comparing Taiwan and the UK

(UK 11am-1pm; Taipei 6-8pm)

• Naiyi Hsiao (Department of Public Administration, National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei, Taiwan) and Po Laing Chen International College of Innovation (ICI) National Chengchi University (NCCU), Taipei, Taiwan)
• How Can Taiwan Help? Contact Tracing under Covid-19 and Implications for Digital Democracy - delivered by Carl Miller (Centre for the Analysis of Social Media)
• From Taiwan to the UK: Digital Democracy and how decision making is changing - delivered by Erik Baark (Division of Social Science and the Division of Environment at the Hong Kong University of Science & Technology)
• The Challenges of Digital Innovation in the Covid-19 Age - delivered by Chun-yi Lee (University Of Nottingham) and Yu-ching Kuo (Independent Researcher)
• Digital democracy and Covid-19, what we can learn from Taiwan about digital democracy in the UK?

Discussion conclusion day one (UK 1-1.30pm; Taipei 8-8.30pm)

Day two - Saturday 26 June 2021

Panel three: Medical management and Covid-19: Taiwan’s perspective

(UK 9-10.45am; Taipei 4-4.45pm)

• Taiwan’s healthcare system and the government's role in coping with Covid-19 pandemic delivered by Tzay-Jinn Chen (Wang-Fan Hospital) 
•  Using Information Technology and Data Science to Fight Covid-19 in Taiwan - delivered by Min-Huei Hsu (Taipei Medical University)
•  The preparedness and response of hospitals to pandemic: Taiwan experience - delivered by Wui-Chiang Lee (Taipei Veterans General Hospital)

 Break (UK 10.45-11am; Taipei 5.45-6pm)

Panel four: Where next for the UK NHS and Taiwan NHI post-Covid

(UK 11am-1pm; Taipei 6-8pm)

• The UK NHS post Covid-19; prospects and problems - delivered by Stephen Timmons (Centre for Health Innovation, Leadership and Learning, Nottingham University Business School)
• The NHI and digital democracy in Taiwan, fighting against Covid-19 - delivered by Elsa Hsu (Taipei Medical University) and Ya-Ting Q and Yu-ching Kuo (Independent Researcher)
• Success, Failure, Ideology and UK Covid-19 Policy: An examination of the dialogue between the science advisory board and the UK government - delivered by Chun-yi Lee (University Of Nottingham) and Mark Murphy (Independent Researcher)

 Discussion conclusion day two (UK 1-1.30pm; Taipei 8-8.30pm)

Refelction by Raian Hossain Lecturer, Global Studies & Governance, Program, School of Liberal Arts & Social Sciences, Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB)  

It was my privilege to learn about Britain and Taiwan's policy interventions about Covid-19 from an esteemed group of researchers and practitioners during the two-day-long virtual conference. This timely conference reflected the success and loopholes of the medical practices and public policy taking a cross-cutting multi-disciplinary approach. Hearing such valuable discussion and research findings when South Asia, particularly Bangladesh, are battling against the delta variant of Covid-19 has helped me to visualise the much required good practices for this part of the world. It was an eye-opening experience for me to see how data, science, and technology play a significant role combatting the noble coronavirus in Britain and Taiwan. While showcasing data science and nationalised health service as an important tool of fighting Covid-19, the conference also reflected certain challenges related to digital interventions, such as the breach of privacy and misinformation and its impact on democracy. The comparative analysis importantly brought out how Taiwan's proactive approach gave the island a much better response than Britain's reactive approach during the first and second wave of Covid-19. The multidisciplinary conference showed the relation between historical, cultural, national and personal issues relates to vaccination or wearing a mask. While pandemic is ongoing, such a conference helps to foresee future challenges and creates the ground for mutual cooperation and finding collective solutions. With the help of this conference, I realised in a globalised world where border control is only a temporary solution; medical practices and knowledge should not be politicised rather should be considered as a free and common good worldwide. I believe similar kind of efforts in arranging such valuable conferences must continue in future.