Framing SARS and H5N1 as an Issue of National Security in Taiwan: Process, Motivations and Consequences

Abstract

Securitizing epidemics has been an approach used by a number of countries and international organizations to frame these health issues and to develop a targeted response to them. This was notably the case in Taiwan for the 2003 SARS and 2005 H5N1 outbreaks, which were both considered as "issues of national security." After a general overview of the global trends of securitizing infectious diseases and a presentation of the academic debate about these processes, we propose to examine the case of Taiwan by focusing on the main initiators of such phenomena, on their discourses around epidemics as well as on the concrete materialization of such framing. Then, we underline the factors which might have facilitated the securitization of SARS and H5N1 in Taiwan in order to reveal what might explain these successes, and we mention some of its main consequences. (English)