The nation is to ship 150 oxygen machines to India this weekend, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday, while confirming that talks are underway to conduct clinical trials of a domestically developed COVID-19 vaccine in Paraguay.
The ministry has since last weekend been looking for ways to help India, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) told reporters in Taipei before heading into a meeting of the Legislative Yuan’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee to report on Taiwan-Japan relations.
India has in the past few weeks struggled to contain a massive surge in daily COVID-19 cases numbering in the hundreds of thousands, with hospitals sending out urgent requests for oxygen and other equipment.
Photo: Peter Lo, Taipei Times
The government has been able to procure 150 oxygenators that have been modified for India’s voltage, which are to ship this weekend, Wu said.
It is looking to purchase more machines, as well as raw materials so that domestic manufacturers can continue production, he added.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Miguel Tsao (曹立傑) on Wednesday told lawmakers that the oxygen machines and other aid would be sent to India on China Airlines (華航) cargo flights.
This would not be the only shipment, he said, adding that the ministry would continue to provide aid on a long-term basis.
Meanwhile, ministry spokeswoman Joanne Ou (歐江安) in a statement on Wednesday confirmed media reports that Taiwan and Paraguay are in talks to conduct clinical trials for a domestically developed vaccine in the South American nation.
Paraguay is one of Taiwan’s 15 diplomatic allies and the remaining one in South America.
While receiving a shipment of Covaxin vaccines from India on Sunday, Paraguayan Expanded Program on Immunization Director Hector Castro extended special thanks to Taiwan for including Paraguay in the trials.
“Participating in clinical trials means not only contributing to science, but also guaranteeing vaccines for our country,” he said, inadvertently revealing that discussions had already begun.
Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp (高端疫苗) and Paraguay’s National University of Asuncion School of Medical Sciences on Thursday last week held a videoconference to discuss vaccine cooperation, Ou said.
Both sides expressed a “high degree of willingness” to cooperate on conducting clinical trials in Paraguay, she added.
Medigen late last month started phase 2 clinical trials in Taiwan, administering 3,752 doses to participants.
As soon as trials enter phase 3 and it is authorized for emergency use, the nation would be happy to export the vaccine “under the principle of meeting domestic demand first,” she said.
“The government will continue to help Paraguay fight the pandemic and ensure the health and lives of Paraguayans are not used as diplomatic blackmail by the Chinese government,” she added, referring to reports that Beijing offered millions of vaccine doses in return for severing diplomatic relations with Taiwan.
The Paraguayan Ministry of Foreign Affairs last month said that some COVID-19 vaccine suppliers, whose legitimacy or link with the Chinese government has not been proven, had suggested breaking relations with Taiwan as a requirement for purchasing vaccines from China.
RESPONSE: The transit sends a message that China’s alignment with other countries would not deter the West from defending freedom of navigation, an academic said Canadian frigate the Ville de Quebec and Australian guided-missile destroyer the Brisbane transited the Taiwan Strait yesterday morning, the first time the two nations have conducted a joint freedom of navigation operation. The Canadian and Australian militaries did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The Ministry of National Defense declined to confirm the passage, saying only that Taiwan’s armed forces had deployed surveillance and reconnaissance assets, along with warships and combat aircraft, to safeguard security across the Strait. The two vessels were observed transiting northward along the eastern side of the Taiwan Strait’s median line, with Japan being their most likely destination,
GLOBAL ISSUE: If China annexes Taiwan, ‘it will not stop its expansion there, as it only becomes stronger and has more force to expand further,’ the president said China’s military and diplomatic expansion is not a sole issue for Taiwan, but one that risks world peace, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that Taiwan would stand with the alliance of democratic countries to preserve peace through deterrence. Lai made the remark in an exclusive interview with the Chinese-language Liberty Times (sister paper of the Taipei Times). “China is strategically pushing forward to change the international order,” Lai said, adding that China established the Asia Infrastructure Investment Bank, launched the Belt and Road Initiative, and pushed for yuan internationalization, because it wants to replace the democratic rules-based international
ECONOMIC BOOST: Should the more than 23 million people eligible for the NT$10,000 handouts spend them the same way as in 2023, GDP could rise 0.5 percent, an official said Universal cash handouts of NT$10,000 (US$330) are to be disbursed late next month at the earliest — including to permanent residents and foreign residents married to Taiwanese — pending legislative approval, the Ministry of Finance said yesterday. The Executive Yuan yesterday approved the Special Act for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience in Response to International Circumstances (因應國際情勢強化經濟社會及民生國安韌性特別條例). The NT$550 billion special budget includes NT$236 billion for the cash handouts, plus an additional NT$20 billion set aside as reserve funds, expected to be used to support industries. Handouts might begin one month after the bill is promulgated and would be completed within
The National Development Council (NDC) yesterday unveiled details of new regulations that ease restrictions on foreigners working or living in Taiwan, as part of a bid to attract skilled workers from abroad. The regulations, which could go into effect in the first quarter of next year, stem from amendments to the Act for the Recruitment and Employment of Foreign Professionals (外國專業人才延攬及僱用法) passed by lawmakers on Aug. 29. Students categorized as “overseas compatriots” would be allowed to stay and work in Taiwan in the two years after their graduation without obtaining additional permits, doing away with the evaluation process that is currently required,
RSS