Business has been swift this week for Oscar Chen, the fourth-generation owner of the Liang Xi Hao restaurant in central Taipei. 9News
The tables at his diner in the Taiwanese capital are buzzing with customers, waiters bustle with dishes of squid soup and rice noodles, and talk and laughter fills the air.
For Chen, it's a welcome shift that has ensured his business can continue relatively unaffected by the outbreak. While he remains concerned about the virus, he believes the best approach is to learn from other east Asian economies - such as Singapore - that have managed to navigate similar changes in mindset.A tale of two cities
That sense of increasing isolation is likely only to add to the backlash against the policy in Shanghai, and other locked down Chinese cities, where frustration is growing at what seems like a never-ending fight. Even as the policy puts the brakes on the country's economy, Chinese leader Xi Jinping has scotched any suggestion of a let-up, pledging to "unswervingly" double down.
"In the last two years, people enjoyed a very free life here - they lived normally and went to work normally. So we don't like city lockdowns or mass testing, and we don't think it is useful to control the spread of the virus," Chen said. The government's decision has been popular. Most residents who spoke to CNN said they felt Taiwan's new COVID-19 approach was preferable to the strict lockdown measures imposed in mainland China.
Taiwan had previously experienced only one major outbreak of Covid-19 - in May last year. That time it banned in-person dining, closed entertainment venues, and suspended schools to control the spread. It then managed to keep case numbers at zero or close to zero until as recently as March 15 this year.
Since the beginning of May, as case numbers spiked, long queues have formed in front of pharmacies across Taipei daily as residents scramble to purchase rapid test kits. Many leave empty handed despite queuing for hours.
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