Grove English Communication Ⅲ
LESSON 13
Audrey Tang: Not Just an IT Expert
As concerns about COVID-19 increased, it became difficult to obtain masks at drugstores around Tokyo in early February, 2020. Stores restricted the number of masks purchased per person, so there were still long lines every morning before the stores opened. People in Japan gradually felt anxious about the outbreak of the pandemic.
In Taiwan, Digital Minister Audrey Tang played a key role in developing the “mask map,” an app to map mask availability. Thanks to this app, people were easily able to find stores where masks were available. Tang is known for her efforts to control the spread of COVID-19.
Tang said that her team’s pandemic response system was based on the three pillars: fast, fair, and fun. One day, they heard about a boy who had no choice but to wear a pink mask. He was afraid to go to school, saying, “My classmates might bully me or laugh at me for wearing a pink mask.” The next day, the cabinet launched a campaign to wear pink masks. Many famous people turned their avatars pink. Pink suddenly became the most popular color.
Tang always listens very carefully to others and finds a rough agreement to make a world without winners or losers. She values working in teams, cooperating, and sharing ideas with others. She always quotes Canadian poet and singer Leonard Cohen: “There is a crack in everything; that’s how the light gets in.” Tang believes that it is good to be imperfect. She said, “Without an imperfect sketch, there isn’t anything to inspire us to do better.”
Audrey Tang took up software programming at the age of eight, dropped out of middle school at 14, and started her own business at 15. She then worked as a digital advisor at a technology company, where she was involved in the development of a virtual assistant, but retired from the business world at 33. At 24, Tang began transitioning to female. At 35, she was appointed as Taiwan’s youngest minister.