Advocates and academics yesterday visited the American Institute in Taiwan’s (AIT) offices in Taipei and Kaohsiung to express their gratitude for the US’ donation of COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan.
Taiwan Republic Office director Chilly Chen (陳峻涵) led associates to the AIT compound in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖) to leave a bouquet of flowers in appreciation for the 2.5 million Moderna vaccine doses donated by the US.
“The donation is a true expression of the friendship between Taiwan and the US, arriving as it did when we are experiencing a vaccine shortage and when the Chinese Nationalist Party [KMT] is pressuring the nation to accept Chinese-made vaccines,” Chen said.
Photo: Jason Pan, Taipei Times
“It is a true demonstration of the saying: ‘A friend in need is a friend indeed,’ letting Taiwanese feel how supportive the US is of Taiwan,” he added.
More than 20 police officers were at the scene to ensure security as Chen and his associates read a statement before leaving the bouquet outside the main gate and taking questions from reporters.
Chen told the Taipei Times that he had contacted the AIT about having a staff member meet them to accept the flowers, but the office told him that a level 3 COVID-19 alert and social distancing prohibited it from fulfilling his request.
That contrasted with the warm reception the AIT’s Kaohsiung office gave advocates and academics that presented it with 12 pots of orchids yesterday.
National University of Kaohsiung president Chen Yueh-tuan (陳月端) led a delegation — including Southern Taiwan Society executives, Presbyterian Church of Taiwan officials, medical organizations and pro-Taiwan groups — that was received by Kaohsiung office director Mason Yu (禹道瑞), media reports said.
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