老外看台灣／外媒記者批評台灣防疫手段 老外秒打臉曝背後功臣

【看CP學英文】在新冠肺炎疫情肆虐下，許多國家持續實施封城和宵禁管制，而台灣卻在近日慶祝連200天沒有新增境內本土案例的里程碑。

As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to spread worldwide, leading to more lockdowns and curfews, Taiwan recently celebrated going through 200 days without domestic COVID-19 infections.

當許多官員、國家為此恭喜台灣防疫成功政績的同時，有些人卻指出台灣因某些特定原因，不值得被稱讚。

While most took to social media to congratulate the island nation on a job well done, not everyone saw Taiwan worthy of compliments.

其中，外媒記者Kate Bevan於週四表示台灣會有如此漂亮的防疫政績，全是因為政府使用大數據科技追蹤技術，壓抑和侵犯人權。

Foreign media reporter, Kate Bevan, took a swing at Taiwan on Thursday, crediting the low virus cases as a result of the government’s “repressive and intrusive data-tracking regime.”

此位駐英記者在推文中寫道：「對於亞洲國家多麽成功防範疫情擴散，我已聽到倦怠了。」

The UK-based reporter wrote in a tweet that she was “over hearing how brilliant Asian countries have been containing COVID-19.”

Kate指控台灣逼迫的數據追蹤系統讓政府握有入境和隔離者的旅遊史、工作性質、接觸史和隔離地址，並表示這樣的方法在英國「不可能，也不應該」出現。

Bevan claimed that Taiwan’s mandatory data-tracking system allows the government to get their hands on patients’ travel history, occupation, contact history and location of quarantine individuals, and added that this would “not fly, and rightfully so, in the UK.”

Kate的貼文馬上引來在台外國網友和駐外地的台灣人大力抨擊，強力反駁她所質疑的政府「壓抑」。

Bevan’s tweet immediately drew criticism from foreigners in Taiwan and Taiwanese abroad who flooded her comment section, refuting her accusations of the alleged “repression”.

台灣法新社局長Jerome Taylor也回應，建議Kate可以先前往台灣或南韓等國家，問問當地人民覺得防止死亡率飆高和經濟力下降的政策是否讓他們感到「壓抑」。

The bureau chief for the Agence France-Presse (AFP, 法新社) in Taiwan, Jerome Taylor, responded to her tweet, suggesting she should “head to Taiwan, or South Korea, and see whether folks think that public health policies which avoided mass deaths & huge economic crises are “really repressive”.

「這兩國都是民主國家。人民如果不滿，有權利抗議，但他們並沒有。」他補充。

“Both are democracies. Folks could protest if they wanted to. They don’t,” he added.

另一位在墨爾本大學研讀語言學的台裔學生Joshua Yang也分享自己回台隔離的經驗。

Joshua Yang, a student previously studying Linguistics at the University of Melbourne, also shared his current quarantine experience in Taiwan.

他解釋入境後，機場人員會提供一個期限15天的手機SIM卡，以確保可以隨時知道隔離人士的所在地。

He explained that upon arrival, officials at the airport offer 15-day SIM cards so as to ensure travelers’ quarantine locations.

其他人也紛紛補充SIM卡一旦過期，就算想要也無法續用，而內部的資料也會被銷毀。

Others also added that the SIM card was not renewable, and the data would be erased afterwards.

另外，Joshua指出德國也要求人民只要前往餐廳、酒吧或咖啡廳時必須留下姓名、電話和地址。

In addition, Yang pointed out that in Germany, customers are often requested to put down their names, phone number and address whenever they visit a restaurant, bar or café.

「如果告訴我被追蹤15天可以換來一個不受疫情折騰的社會，那我非常ＯＫ。」

“If I am being tracked for 15 days in exchange for a COVID-free society that I get to enjoy later, I am quite okay with [that].” Yang said.

而對於那些將台灣成功歸功於其身為島國和僅2300萬人口的人，美國網友也齊聲指出若台灣為美國一州，以人口數來看是第三大州，並指出美國的第三大州如今確診數已完全爆表，不堪入目。

In response to others’ criticism claiming that Taiwan’s success lies in it being an island and having a mere 23 million population, foreigners in the US replied that if Taiwan were a state, it would be the third largest, and added that those states have an extremely higher amount of daily cases.

雖然議論紛紛，但大部分的網友仍表示台灣防疫真正成功的原因應歸咎於政府快速的決策能力、人民配合戴口罩意願度高和大家互相尊重的正確態度。

However, most of the replies under Bevan’s tweet pointed out that after taking in all the factors, the real reason behind the success of Taiwan’s virus-prevention was due to the government’s quick actions, citizens willingness to comply with face-mask-wearing regulations, and everyone’s respect for one another.