President Tsai on Bloomberg's list of world's most influential figures

Taipei, Dec. 4 (CNA) Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has been named as one of the 50 most influential people in the world by Bloomberg News, on its 2020 list that was released Thursday.

In an introduction titled "Tsai Ing-wen, Taiwan's Covid Crusher," the U.S.-based news agency noted that Taiwan had gone more than 200 days without recording a locally transmitted case of COVID-19.

That success could be attributed to the quick response of Tsai's administration, which instituted "one of the world's most effective pandemic response protocols," Bloomberg News said.

Even before Tsai's reelection on Jan. 11, the Taiwan government was already responding to early reports of the virus, "preparing to close borders, impose travel restrictions, and set up rigorous contact tracing and quarantine protocols," the news agency said.

In addition, Taiwan also benefitted from the widespread use of face masks, based on its experience with a deadly SARS outbreak in 2003, according to the article.

As a result, Taiwan, with a population of 23 million people, has had just over 600 COVID-19 cases and seven deaths, it said.

Because of its effective response, "Taiwan will likely be among the few economies to experience growth this year, with officials in August forecasting gross domestic product (GDP) to expand 1.56 percent," the article said.

It cautioned, however, that Taiwan must remain vigilant, in light of an increase in its number of imported cases in recent weeks.

"Other countries that fought the virus well initially, such as Singapore and Japan, later saw spikes," it warned.

The unranked Bloomberg 50 list, now in its fourth edition, recognizes influential figures in fields such as business, entertainment, finance, politics, science and technology.

This year's list also included Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, American singer-songwriter Billie Eilish, and U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Anthony Fauci.