BioNTech SE asked Taiwan to remove the words “my country” from a draft version of a news release that would have announced a vaccine deal, Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said yesterday, as the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) confirmed that 150,000 Moderna COVID-19 vaccines were expected to arrive today.
Talks with Germany’s BioNTech had begun on Aug. 20 last year, but discussions ended in January over the wording of a news release, said Chen, who heads the center.
The company on Dec. 31 last year provided a final version of a vaccine contract, which the center signed and returned on Jan. 6, and the next day, the center and the company exchanged views on what information would be disclosed about the deal, as the contract had included restrictions on what could be shared, he said.
Photo: CNA
On Jan. 8, the center provided the company with a draft news release in Mandarin and English, to which the company initially said it had no objection, he said.
However, hours later, BioNTech told the center that it “strongly recommends” removing the words “my country” (我國) that had appeared in the Mandarin version of the draft, he said.
The center immediately revised the wording to “Taiwan,” but on Jan. 15, the company told the CECC that the signing of the contract would be delayed by weeks due to a reassessment of global vaccine supply and an adjustment to the supply schedule, he said.
Photo: AFP
“It’s crystal clear to me that the contract was finalized,” Chen said.
“There’s no problem within the contract. The problem was something outside of the contract,” he added, without elaborating.
After the incident, Chen said that he would no longer report details about vaccine contracts while negotiations were in progress, and would instead wait until he was sure the vaccines would arrive.
The CECC confirmed local media reports, which first appeared on the Chinese-language Apple Online, that the first batch of 150,000 Moderna vaccines were expected to arrive this afternoon.
American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen, after giving a farewell speech on Wednesday, said that the US had not yet finalized its criteria for releasing a stockpile of vaccines to other countries, and that Taiwan’s infection rate was still among the lowest in the world, which drew criticism despite his popularity in Taiwan.
The Moderna vaccines were to depart from Luxembourg early today and arrive at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 3:50pm, the CECC said in a statement.
The delivery would be just a portion of the 5.05 million COVID-19 vaccine doses that the US company committed to Taiwan on Feb. 8, the center said.
The shipment is to be directly transported to a designated storage facility for further inspection once it clears customs, it said.
Separately yesterday, Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) caucus whip Ker Chien-ming (柯建銘) confirmed media reports that he had spoken with Hon Hai Precision Industry Co (鴻海精密) founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) on Sunday about purchasing doses of the BioNTech vaccine.
However, the negotiations to purchase 5 million doses of the vaccine through Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group (上海復星醫藥集團) fell through at the last minute, and they have not heard from the company since Tuesday, Ker said.
“Gou told me that vaccine purchase efforts should not be caught up by politics,” Ker said.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT), which is proposing that city and county governments be permitted to negotiate their own deals to acquire vaccine shots, might be oversimplifying things, Ker said.
Nantou County Commissioner Lin Ming-chen (林明溱) of the KMT had said he supported reaching out to Fosun Pharma on behalf of the county government to negotiate a purchase deal.
Meanwhile, the CECC said it was to begin distributing about 410,000 doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine that arrived on Wednesday last week.
The vaccines, which were the second shipment received through the COVAX initiative, would be distributed in two stages, said Deputy Minister of the Interior Chen Tsung-yen (陳宗彥), who is deputy head of the center.
Additional reporting by Reuters
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2