The US is to donate 750,000 doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan, a delegation of three US senators said in Taipei yesterday.
The delegation made the announcement during a brief stopover in Taiwan.
The White House on Thursday announced that it aims to donate at least 80 million doses globally by the end of this month. The donation would be part of the first tranche of 25 million doses.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
“It was critical to the United States that Taiwan be included in the first group to receive vaccines, because we recognize your urgent need and we value this partnership,” US Senator Tammy Duckworth said in a brief address at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport), without mentioning the brand of the vaccines or when they were expected to arrive.
Duckworth was joined by US senators Dan Sullivan and Chris Coons in the three-hour visit, before departing back to South Korea at 10:30am. The Taipei visit was part of a larger tour of the Indo-Pacific region by the three senators.
The decision to make the donation followed consultations between the three lawmakers and White House staff, Duckworth said.
Photo: AP
“In the early days of the pandemic, Taiwan came to our aid with supplies of PPE [personal protective equipment] and other donations that helped save American lives,” she said. “On behalf of the American people, we want to thank you for that.”
Duckworth also shared her personal reasons for wanting to visit, saying that her mother’s family was among those who fled China’s Guangdong Province on foot to escape communist rule, and her father’s family has served in the US military stretching back to the American Revolutionary War.
“My family and I know the price of freedom, and I’m here to tell you that the United States will not let you stand alone,” she said. “We will be by your side to make sure that the people of Taiwan have what they need to get to the other side of this pandemic and beyond.”
Photo: CNA
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) met with the delegation at the air force’s Songshan Command, where she thanked the senators and the White House for including Taiwan in the US’ first tranche of donations.
The vaccines are coming at a timely moment for Taiwan and once again demonstrate the “rock-solid” friendship between Taiwan and the US, she said.
The bipartisan group of senators has long shown staunch support for Taiwan.
Duckworth and Sullivan are members of the US Senate Committee on Armed Services and have repeatedly voted in favor of Taiwan, while Coons was a cosponsor of the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative Act, and the Taiwan Assurance Act.
Coons is also a close friend of US President Joe Biden, making him the second of the president’s closest confidants to visit Taiwan in the past few months, following a visit by former US senator Chris Dodd in April.
The US plans to distribute three-quarters of the 80 million doses through the COVAX global vaccine sharing scheme, while the remaining one-quarter would be allocated to dealing with virus surges around the world, the White House said.
Additional reporting by Yang Chun-hui
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,
RELEASED: Ko emerged from a courthouse before about 700 supporters, describing his year in custody as a period of ‘suffering’ and vowed to ‘not surrender’ Former Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) chairman Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) was released on NT$70 million (US$2.29 million) bail yesterday, bringing an end to his year-long incommunicado detention as he awaits trial on corruption charges. Under the conditions set by the Taipei District Court on Friday, Ko must remain at a registered address, wear a GPS-enabled ankle monitor and is prohibited from leaving the country. He is also barred from contacting codefendants or witnesses. After Ko’s wife, Peggy Chen (陳佩琪), posted bail, Ko was transported from the Taipei Detention Center to the Taipei District Court at 12:20pm, where he was fitted with the tracking
RSS