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I think WSJ mischaracterizes what happened. Taiwan CDC sent a question to the WHO through IHR channels: "We asked them whether there's a possibility of human-to-human transmission."
(I say "think" because I can't access the full article) https://twitter.com/Dalzell60/status/1247158114576711680
(I say "think" because I can't access the full article) https://twitter.com/Dalzell60/status/1247158114576711680
The Taiwan CDC notes on 12/31 that it sent a message to the WHO. At that point, it said there were "not yet *obvious* cases human-to-human transmission" (尚未發現明顯人傳人現象): https://www.cdc.gov.tw/Bulletin/Detail/zicpvVlBKj-UVeZ5yWBrLQ?typeid=9
Nothing was conclusive on 12/29. Questions from Taiwan's CDC seem to be drawn from whistleblowers that Wuhan doctors were getting sick. The warning was meant as just that--for WHO specialists with on-the-ground access to be on the lookout for human-to-human transmission.
(FWIW, Taiwan CDC also asked for information on the virus and didn't receive it, which says a lot about Taiwan's exclusion from the WHO)
The question Taiwan sent up to the WHO was largely ignored. It wasn't worth bringing up until it was clear that people-to-people transmission was happening--and that China & the WHO boggled the response and there was an outbreak.
WHO denied 人-人 on 1/12. China confirmed 1/20.
WHO denied 人-人 on 1/12. China confirmed 1/20.
Nonetheless, 12/31 was also 11 days before the election. Let's think how the propaganda machine in China would have used this against the DPP if the TW government came out publicly with its question--again, at that point 人-人 was inconclusive-- rather than deferring to the WHO.
We can see that here. This article notes that--once Taiwan's warning were brought to light--MFA Spokesman Geng Shuang called them efforts to "politically manipulate" the outbreak: https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2020-03-24/taiwan-says-who-ignored-its-coronavirus-questions-at-start-of-outbreak
Finally, this also completely ignores the power dynamics at play: Taiwan has limited official access to both (1) what is supposed to be the world's authority on global health and (2) the source-country of the outbreak.
