Japan angers China and sends more than a million doses of the Corona vaccine to Taiwan
Today, Friday, Taiwan received more than one million doses of the Corona virus (AstraZeneca) vaccine from Japan, as the island struggles to secure vaccines, and accuses China of interfering.
The move sparked outrage in the Chinese capital, Beijing, which considers democratic and self-governing Taiwan its territory and is working to keep the island diplomatically isolated, according to Agence France-Presse.
Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told reporters in Tokyo:
"We have received requests from different countries and regions to provide vaccines, and at this stage we have finished arranging the request from Taiwan, and we will provide free 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca vaccines that were produced in Japan."
For its part, the Taiwanese Foreign Ministry welcomed the move, emphasizing clearly that Taipei and Tokyo "share the universal values of freedom and democracy."
The Taiwanese Minister of Health, Chen Shih-chung, later confirmed the arrival of the vaccines from Japan.
"This is the largest batch of vaccines we have received, and I believe it will be very useful for the overall prevention of the epidemic," Zhong said.
Beijing accused Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party of "putting political manipulation above people's lives" by rejecting Chinese vaccines, according to China's Xinhua News Agency.
Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen accused China of "interfering" in efforts to secure Pfizer's doses, which are distributed by a Shanghai-based pharmaceutical company in the Greater China region.
Tsai said in televised statements that her government will continue to negotiate with countries to ensure an adequate and stable supply of vaccines.
"We are not alone, all governments are fighting to get the vaccines, given the very difficult international situation in Taiwan, there can still be variables before the vaccines are loaded onto a plane," she said.
Since Tsai Ing-wen took office five years ago, Beijing has stepped up military, diplomatic and economic pressure on Taipei, refusing to recognize its position that the island is part of "one China".
Taiwan is currently closed by China from the World Health Organization.
Japan's donation of more than a million doses of the "Corona" vaccine comes as Taiwan is battling a sudden wave of cases, having received one of the best epidemic responses in the world.
And the number of cases of (Covid-19) in recent weeks has jumped to more than 10,000, with 187 deaths.
Taiwan wants to launch mass vaccines in the next few months, by setting up thousands of community vaccination stations to administer 1 million injections a week, but it is struggling to secure enough doses.
Taiwan, with a population of 23.5 million, has pre-order deals for about 30 million doses of the "Corona" vaccine, but it received only 726,600 doses of "AstraZeneca" and 150,000 doses of "Moderna", before receiving the Japanese donation.
It is noteworthy that Taiwan was also included in the plans set by America this week to distribute 80 million doses worldwide.
Source:1
