The government would bolster its security check system to prevent China from infiltrating the nation’s medical cold chain, a national security official said yesterday.
The official, who wished to stay anonymous, made the remarks after the Chinese-language magazine Mirror Media (鏡周刊) reported that Pharma Logistics (嘉里醫藥物流) is in charge of the medical logistics of about half of the nation’s major hospitals, including National Taiwan University Hospital and Taipei Veterans General Hospital.
The company’s parent, Kerry TJ Logistics Co (嘉里大榮物流), is associated with the National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and the Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA), the report said.
Photo: CNA
Pharma Logistics is also one of the key contractors of medical drug distribution in Taipei, New Taipei City and Keelung, it reported, adding that the company’s cold chain logistics center in New Taipei City’s Sijhih District (汐止) is responsible for the storage and delivery of the Centers for Disease Control’s (CDC) disease prevention resources.
Kerry Logistics is affiliated with Hong Kong’s KLN Logistics Group (香港嘉里物流) and KHL Holding (嘉里控股), and has cross-shareholdings with China’s SF Holding Co (中國順豐控股), the magazine said.
SF Holding is China’s biggest logistics company, and it acquired Kerry Logistics in 2021, it added.
KHL Holding chairman Kuok Khoon-hua (郭孔華) has been a member of the CPPCC Beijing Municipal Committee since 2023, and his sister Kuok Hui-kwong (郭惠光) is a member of the CPPCC Shanghai Committee, the magazine said.
SF Holding has signed a strategic cooperation agreement with the PLA Air Force, and is incorporated in the logistics network of the Chinese Communist Party’s (CCP) “military-civil fusion” strategy, it added.
In response to concerns about the potential national security threat, the official said that Taiwan would bolster its security check system, prohibit monopolization of critical logistics systems and include key companies that cooperate with the government in its security check system.
Security check systems should be enhanced for critical infrastructures and key industries, especially those associated with societal security resilience, to check for Chinese funding or abnormal connections with China, the official said.
Aside from medical resources, logistics systems are also involved in the distribution of key daily necessities, so monopolies should be banned and solid backup systems must be in place, regardless of whether Chinese infiltration is involved, the official said.
Lastly, while logistics companies only handle commercial logistics in normal times, government agencies should have open-ended contracts with the companies that they normally cooperate with to systematically include them in its security check system and ensure that they are not associated with Chinese funding, the official said.
Tunghai University Center for Mainland China and Regional Development Research deputy director Hung Pu-chao (洪浦釗) yesterday said that the situation poses a national security threat.
Medical logistics is a lifeline during wartime, so if critical cold chain and distribution nodes are controlled by companies that are bound by Chinese law, then Taiwan’s healthcare system would be exposed to enemy surveillance, he said.
It is not only a logistics chain management issue, but a vulnerability in the nation’s defense resilience, Hung said, adding that the government should classify medical logistics under critical infrastructure, pushing for localization and restricting Chinese funding to prevent external control in times of emergency.
The threat of Chinese infiltration through funding is not only about money, but about information, he said.
China’s National Intelligence Law requires companies to cooperate with its intelligence agency, so if they are connected to China or Hong Kong’s Internet domain, Taiwan’s hospital codes, delivery routes and patients’ information could be leaked, Hung said.
This is a highly private information that could result in significant risks, so the government must set up a sovereign defense line for protecting such information, and ensure medical logistics information remains in Taiwan and is safely managed by Taiwanese, he added.
The greatest crisis lies in “local infiltration,” because if a hostile force could legally enter sensitive industries in Taiwan, there would be security vulnerabilities within the system, Hung said, urging the government to enhance investment reviews and beneficial owner disclosure mechanisms, classify medical logistics as strategic assets and prevent subversive infiltration.
Only by addressing these systemic risks could Taiwan’s defense resilience really be established, he said.
Deputy Minister of Health Lin Ching-yi (林靜儀) yesterday said that the ministry would discuss with agencies setting up backup logistics systems and information nodes.
Medical response relies on collaboration among multiple systems, including local health departments and healthcare facilities, so the ministry has asked healthcare facilities to store certain quantities of vital drugs and medication for emergencies, and work with logistics companies in allocating resources when there is insufficient supply, he said.
The law does not prohibit Chinese investment in logistics companies, so the ministry would discuss with the Food and Drug Administration how to establish backup logistic systems, Lin said.
The CDC yesterday said it ended its contract with Pharma Logistics last year.
CALL FOR SUPPORT: President William Lai called on lawmakers across party lines to ensure the livelihood of Taiwanese and that national security is protected President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday called for bipartisan support for Taiwan’s investment in self-defense capabilities at the christening and launch of two coast guard vessels at CSBC Corp, Taiwan’s (台灣國際造船) shipyard in Kaohsiung. The Taipei (台北) is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels, and the Siraya (西拉雅) is the Coast Guard Administration’s (CGA) first-ever ocean patrol vessel, the government said. The Taipei is the fourth and final ship of the Chiayi-class offshore patrol vessels with a displacement of about 4,000 tonnes, Lai said. This ship class was ordered as a result of former president Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) 2018
‘SECRETS’: While saying China would not attack during his presidency, Donald Trump declined to say how Washington would respond if Beijing were to take military action US President Donald Trump said that China would not take military action against Taiwan while he is president, as the Chinese leaders “know the consequences.” Trump made the statement during an interview on CBS’ 60 Minutes program that aired on Sunday, a few days after his meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) in South Korea. “He [Xi] has openly said, and his people have openly said at meetings, ‘we would never do anything while President Trump is president,’ because they know the consequences,” Trump said in the interview. However, he repeatedly declined to say exactly how Washington would respond in
WARFARE: All sectors of society should recognize, unite, and collectively resist and condemn Beijing’s cross-border suppression, MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng said The number of Taiwanese detained because of legal affairs by Chinese authorities has tripled this year, as Beijing intensified its intimidation and division of Taiwanese by combining lawfare and cognitive warfare, the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday. MAC Minister Chiu Chui-cheng (邱垂正) made the statement in response to questions by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Puma Shen (沈柏洋) about the government’s response to counter Chinese public opinion warfare, lawfare and psychological warfare. Shen said he is also being investigated by China for promoting “Taiwanese independence.” He was referring to a report published on Tuesday last week by China’s state-run Xinhua news agency,
‘ADDITIONAL CONDITION’: Taiwan will work with like-minded countries to protect its right to participate in next year’s meeting, the foreign ministry said The US will “continue to press China for security arrangements and protocols that safeguard all participants when attending APEC meetings in China,” a US Department of State spokesperson said yesterday, after Beijing suggested that members must adhere to its “one China principle” to participate. “The United States insists on the full and equal participation of all APEC member economies — including Taiwan — consistent with APEC’s guidelines, rules and established practice, as affirmed by China in its offer to host in 2026,” the unnamed spokesperson said in response to media queries about China putting a “one China” principle condition on Taiwan’s
RSS