ABCD of success

East Asia has relied on the old and welcomed the new to effectively respond to the pandemic

East Asian countries have set a relatively good example in fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic until now. China, Japan, the Republic of Korea and Singapore, attacked by the unknown and challenging novel coronavirus at the beginning of this year, responded with timely and effective measures.

Although East Asian countries have different political systems and economic models, people in East Asia generally respect the authority of the government as well as experts, adhere to the culture that advocates benevolence, believe in and uphold collectivism in social life, pursue development and share prosperity as a result. These features can be collectively termed "ABCD": authority, benevolence, collectivism, and development. There is a benign interaction between these factors and the responsibility, effectiveness and efficiency of governments.

This "ABCD" code of successfully fighting against virus is also the secret of the rise of East Asia in recent years. Moreover, we can associate it with the "ABCD" code of the coming digital age: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and big data, which is being facilitated by 5G. A traditional and old East Asia is meeting a modern and young East Asia.

Unlike Western developed countries, China and most East Asian countries are required to adopt a new vision for development because industrial upgrading, IT application, urbanization, and agricultural modernization are happening at the same time. This is a huge test for their governance systems. But at the same time, the application of new technologies offers not only new economic opportunities but also the means to improve their governance capabilities, thus the East Asian countries prefer to embrace the digital future with a positive attitude.

A recent report released by the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development noted that the global health crisis has accelerated the uptake of digital solutions, tools, and services, speeding up the global transition toward a digital economy. And the digital divides between countries and societies should be bridged to a greater extent.

Fortunately, in East Asia, we are good at turning challenges into opportunities. For example, in China, Shanghai launched "internet+medical" services to meet the basic medical needs of residents and the need for pandemic prevention and control. Zhejiang province used the "one diagram of epidemiological trend, one QR health code, one index for traffic, logistics and crowd density" for classified governance, dynamic management, and intelligent control. The "one-key broadcast" function, developed by China Telecom for rural areas, allows village officials to link their smartphones with loudspeakers and broadcast notices and tips for pandemic prevention and control to villagers through an app.

In fact, digital technologies have proved invaluable in responding to the pandemic in China, and the other East Asian countries have adopted similar digital means in their pandemic prevention and control measures, both in urban and rural areas.

From the Chinese experience, the consensual sharing of personal health status and travel information among regions via a QR health code system has played a positive role in finding close contacts of those infected with the virus and locating suspected cases. Although this approach was initially resisted in some countries, it has now been widely accepted as being effective and put into practice in many other countries.

According to Kurt Bair, former vice finance minister of Austria, director of the World Bank and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, although the Europeans are naturally resistant to the sharing of personal data and are skeptical of the application of new technologies, they have had to accept the use of digital technologies in the face of the threat from the virus. From this perspective, East Asia is ahead of Europe.

Last but not least, solidarity and collaboration in East Asia is becoming the most advantageous weapon to defeat the pandemic. Besides the friendship and mutual assistance among their peoples, East Asian countries have affirmed the commitments made in the joint statement released after the Special Association of Southeast Asian Nations+3 Summit on Coronavirus Disease 2019(COVID-19), as well as the ASEAN-China Economic Ministers' Joint Statement on Combating the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) and Enhancing ACFTA Cooperation. This will inject firm trust and new vitality into regional governance and integration.

The author is assistant professor of China Institute at Fudan University. The author contributed this article to China Watch, a think tank powered by China Daily. The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.