The Netherlands just like many nations in Europe has been hit hard by the Wuhan coronavirus as the country has reported 39,316 cases of the virus and 4,795 fatalities. Taiwan has emerged as an unlikely help for The Netherlands by supplying essential medical equipments and the latter in return sent tulips and boxes of stroopwafels as an expression of gratitude to Taiwan’s medical workers, much to the ire of China.
The Netherlands sent 3,999 tulips and stroopwafels to the Taiwanese medical workers to thank them for helping the former battle the pandemic. “Taiwan has donated face masks to the frontline medical workers in the Netherlands at times of emergency. We are very grateful,” said Guy Wittich, Dutch Representative to Taiwan at a Taipei ceremony.
Guy Wittich also acknowledged the efforts of the Taipei City government for its successful efforts in containing the virus. The presents were sent by air by The Netherlands Trade and Investment Office (NTIO) and will be sent to dozens of hospitals in Taiwan and the Central Epidemic Command Center. The NITO said, “We thanked [medical workers] for their determined contribution, generous sharing, and vigilant gatekeeping that created another Taiwan miracle and deepened the friendship between the Netherlands and Taiwan.”
Seeking to engage more closely with Taiwan, the NITO also changed its name to “Netherlands Office Taipei” which has greatly irked China. The Chinese embassy in The Netherlands has demanded a “clarification” from the Dutch Foreign Ministry as it affected China’s “core interests”.
The fact that the Dutch politicians have voiced their support for Taiwan’s inclusion into the World Health Organisation as an observer is making China burn like a distraught lover.
The Chinese Communist Party deployed its propaganda outlet The Global Times to pressurise the Netherlands as the publication claimed that the Chinese netizens called for a boycott of Dutch products. In reality, the “netizens” were the Chinese bots as in China the bots have more freedom of expression than the Chinese citizens.
The same “netizens” called for a stop to all medical exports to the Netherlands, conveniently ignoring the fact that the Netherlands had recalled 600,000 Chinese face masks due to its failure to meet the necessary quality standards after they had already been distributed to hospitals.
While China has sent faulty medical equipment across the globe, Taiwan has stepped up its “mask diplomacy”. Recently, Taiwan donated 5.6 million masks to the European Union to help fight the Wuhan virus. The President of European Commission which is the European Union’s executive arm, Ursula von der Leyen took to Twitter to praise and thank Taiwan.
The island country has also launched the global “Taiwan can help” campaign as a part of which it pledges to donate masks and medical supplies to the rest of the world.
Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen even announced the decision to donate 10 million masks to Coronavirus-battered countries. She said, “We want everyone to not only see that ‘Taiwan can help,’ but that ‘Taiwan is helping.’”
With a capacity to produce 13 million masks a day, Taiwan is donating 7 million masks to Europe, including Italy, Spain, France, Germany, Belgium and the UK, and an additional 2 million masks to the US. Apart from this, Taiwan will also ship 1 million masks to the New Southbound Policy Countries.
Taiwan is doing what China should have been doing, given that it was China’s recklessness and the cover-up that has landed the entire world in trouble. Similar angry reactions of China will be seen in future if other countries increase communication with Taiwan.