---
tags: 採訪共筆
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# g0ver × WIRED: interviewing g0vers

This is an interview for an article on Taiwanese response to Covid and why it’s been so effective. au (Audrey Tang) was also interviewed earlier.

> The article was published https://www.wired.co.uk/article/taiwan-coronavirus-covid-response

## Questions

Hi all, thank you for speaking to me. I am writing an article about your [Taiwan’s] Covid response. As part of this it would be great to get some examples of digital initiatives/projects you have been working on that demonstate how data is being used to inform and help citizens. Part of the article will look to assess what the rest of the world can learn from Taiwan. Some questions below, and also some info about me (I am freelance but have covered Taiwan before and include a link to this article).

### Can you give me some examples of (Covid-related) projects you have been working on? How do they work?

> [name=isabel] from Jothon working group
[The Jothon online project](https://docs.google.com/document/d/1nQ2kmvqzAHmJ42wSukeYda21Bi1_2e8jSnP-eoqzdtM/edit#heading=h.d4ikvr9idea0)
isabel ++ jothon ++

> [name=Jarvis Lin] I participated in two open source projects, one is a website called [Pharmacies Map](https://kiang.github.io/pharmacies/) developed by Kiang (g0ver), the other is an Android application made by myself, called [MaskInfo Map](https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.jarvislin.drugstores).
>
> Kiang’s map focus on the information of pharmacies, such as address, phone number, business hours and the quantity of masks in stock. The information comes from the open data provided by the government and the geographic location data compiled by other g0vers.
>
> When the epidemic broke out, the Taiwanese government restricted the quantity of masks that each citizen is able to buy. Also the pharmacies are the only place where the public can purchase the mask. Therefore, this information can be helpful for those people who want to buy masks from surrounding pharmacies.
>
> Kiang not only provides map service, but also allows everyone to use the data he has used. At the beginning I used the government's open data, but later I also used Kiang‘s data because the content is more complete than the government's open data. Further more, the data provided by Kiang is stored on Github which can handle high traffic, and it is more stable than the government's.
>
> Since I am Android Developer, it is easier for me to develop Android Application. MaskInfo Map provides the content mentioned above just like kiang’s map service. In addition, it implements more features that I think are important. For example, the quantity of masks may be incorrect, so I encourage the users report the correct information and display all correct information to make it closer to the real situation. When someone reports that the information of pharmacy is incorrect, I update kiang’s data to ensure that all developers who use this data can get correct information.
>
> I also collected proclamations announced by our government and news published by Centers for Disease Control and put them into my app. This information is important but easily overlooked by citizens. That’s why I wish this app can help the public to be aware of the importance of current situation.

### What role do citizens/g0v have to play in Taiwan’s Covid response?

> [name=chihao] Based on my personal experiences, many people have heard of (or are familiar with) the things g0vers have done in the past (“Sunflower”, explosions, earthquakes, etc.), and what those info platforms can achieve in disaster relieve / emergency response -- to not only obtain vital info for oneself, but to build a platform to gather and release these info for everyone. This awareness exists not only among citizens, but with some government officials and staff as well.
>
> Furthermore, I think it is a habit of civic hackers to produce data when none is easily available. For example, when some wanted to know the details of campaign contributions, and data was not readily available, g0vers stepped up and crowd-sourced that. Not only did they produced the data, it is also a habit for these civic hackers to make these data “open data”, so more people can use it, in the ways that they want.
>
> When faced with mask shortage, the info of “where can I buy masks” is a question that concerned almost everyone. Faced with a lack of data of convenience store locations (at the time masks were sold through convenience stores), and supply, a concerned engineer Howard (one of the first working on silimar applications at the time) decided to build a website for people to add convenient stores to the map and report mask supply. It’s not perfect, but it works.
>
> After Howard’s map gained much attention, Taiwan’s government followed and announced its revised plan to sell masks via pharmacies, as well as official data of pharmacy locations and mask supply.
>
> In short, g0vers as citizens are the “first responders” (in a way) in an emergency. They (we?) produce workable (tech/crowd-based) solutions to demonstrate what can be done, and what more needed to be done, creating solutions and pressure simultaneously for the government to respond quickly.

### Are you working on anything for the future as the situation develops?

### What can other countries learn from Taiwan (in regard to pandemic responses)?

> [name=chihao] Also in my own opinion - know that China is agreesive and deceitful.
>
> Taiwan’s response re: mask supply was quickly picked up by civic hackers in Japan and Korea via g0v’s international task force in constant connection with Code for Japan, Parti (coop in Korea), Nullfull (community in Korea), and the later established Code for Korea. More details re: Japanese response can be found here: https://g0v.news/facing-the-coronavirus-1-3e7fc4680ba7. Some info re: Korean response can be found in this deck, which was a talk civic hackers gave during this year’s Code for Japan Summit: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/12WaLEtujOxog_k21aODGUcSUYQ5buFMzNUygiy8bFhI/edit.

## A bit about me

last article about Taiwan: https://www.wired.co.uk/article/taiwan-sunflower-revolution-audrey-tang-g0v
Twitter: https://twitter.com/KateOflaherty
Website: https://www.techjournalist.me/

## Licensing
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ or send a letter to Creative Commons, PO Box 1866, Mountain View, CA 94042, USA

## Other references
- [g0v & COVID-19 採訪 Interviews](/FfhnYvfaR-qX8NuFgzCBLw)