Beijing has been encouraging Taiwanese organizations to purchase Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccines through Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group to give the impression that all vaccines received by Taiwanese after this summer came from China, industry sources said yesterday.
Chinese officials are urging groups to follow the example of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co, which are looking to purchase millions of doses through a subsidiary of the Chinese company, they said.
Shanghai Fosun has a contract with Germany’s BioNTech to sell the vaccine in Taiwan, China, Hong Kong and Macau.
Photo: CNA
The Chinese National Association of Industry and Commerce reportedly scheduled a meeting with the Ministry of Health and Welfare on June 21 to discuss purchasing 2.5 million doses of the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine for companies “following the Hon Hai model,” an insider said.
Although the meeting was canceled, the trade group in preliminary discussions hinted at the possibility of eliminating the government’s role in negotiations, including replacing original manufacturer authorization with documentation from a commercial agent, they said.
However, a source with knowledge of the process said that the proposal shows an obvious misunderstanding of the legal process behind vaccine procurement.
Because the association did not plan to donate the vaccines to the government, its application had been put on hold, they added.
When the association first proposed purchasing vaccines, it did so out of concern that a vaccine shortage would affect the industry, but did not indicate how or from whom it would purchase them, an official with knowledge of the matter said.
Association representatives in a meeting with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) also expressed a general understanding of the complexity of international vaccine procurement and the need for government intervention, they added.
However, an industry source said that a key figure in the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) last month approached the association to suggest that it purchase doses from Shanghai Fosun through Missioncare Group.
KMT-run local governments also proposed purchasing vaccines through the association, reportedly suggesting that they hold a joint news conference to submit their proposal to the ministry, they added.
The KMT believes that including industry representatives could dilute the impression that the party is insisting on procuring vaccines from Shanghai Fosun, the source said.
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