ABSTRACT
So far the Asian Tigers, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore, have been relative success stories in the Covid-19 crisis. Taiwan and Hong Kong did not suffer from nationwide contagion because the government quickly tightened border controls and tested its population just after the outbreak of the crisis in Wuhan, China. Korea and Singapore fell victim to a large outbreak, but quickly flattened the curve through widespread testing and aggressive contact tracing until early May. Relatively low mortality rates also distinguish the four countries from their neighbors. The key to success lies in social distancing, masking culture and mindful hygiene practices. Institutional capability for mobilizing medical and human resources enabled their swift and effective response to the crisis. The legacy of the developmental state also shows in the extensive role of government in health care and social safety nets. A tradeoff between aggressive contact tracing and privacy makes their approaches less attractive to liberal democracies. The painful memories of SARS and MERS help citizens to follow government guidelines and tolerate privacy breaches.
