The Philippine Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was willing to collaborate with Taiwan on COVID-19 vaccine regulations, but did not commit to issuing emergency use authorization (EUA) of a Taiwanese-made vaccine, according to a letter from the agency to a Taiwanese drugmaker in January.
Taiwanese media on Tuesday reported that the agency had written to a Taiwanese biotech company and declared its willingness to allow for the use of a Taiwanese COVID-19 vaccine once it received an EUA in Taiwan.
Some local reports also indicated that the Philippines was interested in procuring the vaccines as long as they obtained an EUA in Taiwan.
Philippine presidential spokesman Harry Roque and Philippine vaccine czar Carlito Galvez Jr denied the reports to Manila-based broadcaster ABS-CBN.
The reports quickly drew attention in Taiwan, with some saying they worried the issue could affect Taiwan-Philippines relations.
The Presidential Office said that the Philippine government has not made any request regarding Taiwan’s as-yet unauthorized COVID-19 vaccines, and the office has asked media to correct their erroneous reports.
A copy of the letter, dated Jan. 21, obtained by the Central News Agency said: “The [Philippine] FDA recognizes the accomplishments and contributions of the TFDA [Taiwan’s FDA] in drug regulation. The FDA is open for collaboration in different aspects of drug regulations.”
A source from the Philippine government on Thursday said that the letter was a response to a Taiwanese vaccine company’s inquiries on whether the agency would recognize its Taiwanese counterpart as a competent authority.
The agency only expressed openness to work with the Taiwanese FDA on the matter of vaccine regulations, but did not make any commitments to that effect, the source said.
At least two Taiwanese biotech firms are expected to roll out COVID-19 vaccines in the coming months. Neither has started phase 3 clinical trials nor have they received an EUA in Taiwan.
Opposition parties have voiced concerns that the government might be rushing to approve domestically developed vaccines, and that EUAs for them would be granted even though they have not yet started phase 3 trials.
President Tsai Ing-wen’s (蔡英文) administration has said that local vaccines must meet the government’s safety and efficacy standards before they are granted an EUA.
The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) on Thursday issued a statement demanding that the government investigate news outlets reporting on the letter to determine if they had intentionally disseminated disinformation, especially as Tsai’s administration has been threatening to prosecute anyone spreading false information during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“During the pandemic, the Tsai government has been warning the public not to spread misinformation, and contraveners could face a fine of up to NT$3 million [US$107,875]. We call on the Tsai administration to investigate the possible spread of misinformation that might have to do with domestic propaganda or the manipulation of stock prices for a specific company,” the KMT said.
A video allegedly featuring retired general Kao An-kuo (高安國) calling on Taiwanese military officers to surrender to China and overthrow the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) government has sparked outrage and calls for him to be charged with treason. The video, titled “A message to Taiwanese military officers,” allegedly shows Kao saying: “I call on commanding officers of our military troops to stand up for Chinese nationalism, to take up this duty under heaven’s mandate to save Taiwanese from oppression and terrible suffering.” Dressed in military fatigues and a beret, the lieutenant general called on officers to overthrow the “fraudulent DPP regime,”
‘NOT IMPOSSIBLE’: Acceptance to the UN would end the nation’s troubles, but it would be impossible to achieve without US backing, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun said The US might recognize Taiwan if war breaks out in the Taiwan Strait, Legislative Speaker You Si-kun (游錫堃) said yesterday while discussing politics with former president Chen Shui-bian (陳水扁). Speaking on Chen’s program on Smile Radio, You reminisced about his agrarian childhood, studies, the founding of the Democratic Progressive Party in 1986 and his eight years as Yilan County commissioner. Chen’s appointment of You as premier in February 2002 marked several firsts, as he was Taiwan’s youngest premier, as well as the first from a farming background and first democratically elected county leader to hold the office. Asked to share his views on
ONLY EXCEPTIONS: The mayors of the two largest cities voiced concerns over hidden cases, while all other local governments are to follow eased CECC guidelines All local governments, with the exception of Taipei and New Taipei City, are to allow dine-in services at restaurants after the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Friday announced that it would on Tuesday lower a nationwide COVID-19 alert to level 2. The center on July 8 allowed the resumption of dining at restaurants nationwide — despite keeping the alert level at 3. At the time, this prompted all cities and counties, except Penghu Country, to keep local dine-in bans in place. Following Friday’s CECC announcement that COVID-19 prevention measures would be further relaxed, the Taipei and New Taipei City governments
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs yesterday rejected the claim Beijing has been making about Taiwan’s status, while thanking US Deputy Secretary of State Wendy Sherman for raising concerns about Taiwan during her meeting with Chinese officials. Sherman met with Chinese Minister of Foreign Affairs Wang Yi (王毅) on a visit to Tianjin on Sunday and Monday, with Wang urging Washington not to infringe on China’s sovereignty and territorial integrity. Taiwan is part of China, a fundamental fact that would never change, and China has the right to take any action needed to restrain Taiwanese independence, Wang said, urging Washington to abide
RSS