IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021 - 74

Feature
Success in Digital
Governance: A
Literature Review on
Taiwan's COVID-19
Management
Haowen Fan
Fulton Schools of Engineering,
Arizona State University, Tempe, AZ 85281 USA
 Due to the proximity to China and millions of
international travelers yearly, Taiwan was thought to be
at a great risk to be hit hard by the COVID-19. However,
it so far managed to prevent the massive community
transmission among its 23 million citizens. What leads
to this success? What kinds of technology are used?
Built upon the previous research and report, I argue
that three major technology elements contribute to
its success. First, the quarantine and cellphone tracking
policy which blocks the transmission of imported
cases. Second, the mask manufacturing management
and distribution system help slow the spread of the
disease. Third, a bunch of open-source software developed
by civil society keeps people informed and even
increase their voluntary compliance.
Digital fence and entry
quarantine system
Cellphone location-based tracking
In late January 2020, a week after its first record of
an imported COVID-19 case from China [22], Taiwan
has implemented the first cellphone-based tracking
system to force quarantine those people at a high
risk of exposure to COVID-19 to stop the spread of
community infection [1], [21].
Digital Object Identifier 10.1109/MTS.2021.3101923
Date of current version: 2 September 2021.
74
0278-0097/21©2021 IEEE
The Digital Fence Intelligent Monitoring System,
known as the " digital fence, " monitors the triangulation
location of those required to undergo home quarantine
through their cellphones or government-issued
cellphones [2]. If those quarantined individuals venturing
too far from their designed place, the alert will
be triggered. The system will send out text messages
to the quarantined individuals, government civil
affairs, health authorities, and local police to confirm
their whereabouts. Also, as the less accuracy of the
triangulation method, the government will contact
these people daily to make sure they do not evade
tracking by leaving their phones at home. Those who
fail to comply will be fined up to NT$1 million (about
$33,000). Later, in April, the Center Epidemic Control
Center (CECC) introduces a new feature into the system,
which allows people to submit their health conditions
and obtain helpful notes regarding disease
prevention through short message service (SMS) [10].
In response to the epidemic, all overseas arrivals
are also required to submit a health declaration
through quick response (QR) code before attending a
flight and will be tested upon arrival. Then they will be
transferred to the designed places for quarantine. This
system, called entry quarantine system, has been integrated
into the digital fence system [3]. What is more
helpful is that this travel history or possible close contact
with confirmed cases is also integrated into Taiwan's
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IEEE Technology and Society Magazine - September 2021

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