Bloomberg columnist describes his ‘ridiculously normal life’ in Taiwan amid pandemic

彭博專欄作家描述了在大流行期間，他在台灣“荒誕”生活

'To put it bluntly, life in Taiwan this year has been ridiculously normal': Tim Culpan


TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A Bloomberg tech columnist described his life in Taiwan over the past 10 months in an article titled "My Ridiculously Good Life in Taiwan Amid the Global Pandemic," which was published on Thursday (Dec. 24).

When New York, London, Melbourne, and other big cities around the world were locking down to thwart the spread of the coronavirus, businesses across Taiwan remained open, wrote Tim Culpan. In the past few months in Taipei, the writer has attended concerts, run marathons, swum in public pools, worked out in fully open gyms, had drinks in packed bars, attended banquets, and even participated in two LGBT pride parades.

“To put it bluntly, life in Taiwan this year has been ridiculously normal,” he wrote.

On the weekend before Christmas, he had dinner with friends in a hotel busy with wedding banquets, just like many other venues across Taiwan. After that, they went to a nightclub crowded with partygoers who danced "cheek by jowl" without masks.

Culpan mentioned that even his report was written in a busy cafe. People chatted away as he wrote, with the only sign of the pandemic being the masks they kept around their necks or wrists.

Cafes are one of a few businesses in Taiwan that have remained prosperous during the pandemic, he continued. Owners of bars and restaurants had told him that their business was very light in March and April; however, when summer came, things began to take off. Some establishments even reported record-breaking monthly revenue, according to his report.

Over the course of the year, airline tickets to Taiwan's outlying islands have been periodically soldout, and hotel rooms have at times been hard to come by. Five-star hotels, on the other hand, have been out of luck, as their operations depend heavily on international travelers.

The columnist also praised the Taiwanese for their willingness to wear masks, contrasting them with some Americans who have warped the issue into one of personal freedom. Taiwan, Culpan pointed out, has manifested real freedom, which is to have a drink at a bar or dine in a restaurant without the fear of a lethal virus.