Germany’s foreign minister on Tuesday accused China of tying the delivery of COVID-19 vaccines to political demands.
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Heiko Maas said that China and Russia had been good at publicly promoting the delivery of their vaccines to other countries, but also pursued other aims in doing so.
“We note, in particular with China, that the supply of vaccines was also used to make very clear political demands of various countries,” he said.
Photo: EPA-EFE
Speaking to reporters during a trip to Kalamazoo, Michigan, where Maas visited a Pfizer Inc production facility, he added that such behavior should be rejected.
“In order to prevent this from happening in the first place we don’t just have to criticize it, but we have to ensure that the affected countries have alternatives,” he said.
“Those alternative are the vaccines we have available, and which we, of course, want to make available to as many countries and regions in the world as possible,” Maas said. “[That way] the Russians and the Chinese can’t continue to conduct their difficult vaccine diplomacy in this fashion, which only has the purpose of increasing their own influence and not necessarily to save people’s lives in the first instance.”
While he did not provide any specific examples, Taiwan has accused China of using the delivery of its shots to pressure countries into dropping their support for Taiwan.
Chinese officials have claimed that their country is providing COVID-19 vaccines to nearly 40 African countries, but said that this was being done for purely altruistic reasons.
Last month, diplomats in Geneva, Switzerland, said that China had pressured Ukraine into withdrawing its support for a call for more scrutiny of human rights in Xinjiang, China, by threatening to withhold Chinese-made vaccine doses.
In response to Maas’ comments, Democratic Progressive Party spokesman Chou Chiang-chieh (周江杰) said that the party has consistently asserted that “vaccines should not be used as a political tool by any country.”
“As Taiwan confronts the difficult situation of vaccines and diplomacy, people should understand that China and its co-conspirators in the country are using the vaccine issue to create chaos and achieve their political aims,” he said.
The people and the government of Taiwan remain committed to overcoming obstacles in vaccine procurement, he said, adding that public-private cooperation has led to progress toward that goal.
The party categorically denies allegations that the government has in any way impeded private initiatives to buy vaccines, he added.
“Remarks to the effect that the government is blocking vaccine imports or that a shortage of doses is due to the government not doing enough are absurd — and they should stop,” he said.
Chou also slammed Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣), who reportedly gave Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) a basket of flowers with a message full of Chinese proverbs.
“Chiang made a joke of himself by misusing proverbs, but, understandably, the party chairperson elections are making him nervous,” Chou said.
Additional reporting by Jonathan Chin and CNA
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