Taiwan should consider donating local COVID-19 vaccines to consolidate diplomatic ties and counter Chinese attempts to poach allies through “vaccine diplomacy,” a Control Yuan committee said on Friday.
In a 26-page report on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on Taiwan’s international relations, the Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee said that the nation is under great pressure to keep the virus at bay.
The global spread of COVID-19 and repeated military, economic and diplomatic threats from China have put Taiwan at risk, severely harming cross-strait relations and nearly halting all exchanges, it said.
Photo: Hsieh Chun-lin, Taipei Times
After the pandemic is under control, the government should establish a “multifaceted dialogue platform” to help parties on both sides of the Taiwan Strait gradually resume normal exchanges, the committee said.
It also suggested that the government respond prudently to Chinese attempts to harm the nation’s diplomatic relations through the distribution of vaccines.
Once Taiwan’s vaccine needs are met, it should consider donating domestically produced vaccines to friendly nations in a demonstration of Taiwan’s “spirit of humane diplomacy,” it said.
Taiwan was one of the vanishingly few nations whose economies grew as the world battled the pandemic last year, the report said, adding that economic recovery in each country would depend on its speed in inoculating its population.
The government should seize the opportunity afforded by the global recovery and supply chain restructuring to improve supportive measures, especially amid continuing US-China trade disputes and regional economic integration, it said.
It must additionally offer needed support to overseas officials who are continuing the nation’s diplomatic work, even while facing the threat of the pandemic, the committee added.
The report came shortly after the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Tuesday last week confirmed plans to donate doses of Medigen Vaccine Biologics’ COVID-19 vaccine to help allies that have struggled to procure vaccines.
The ministry at the time cited Chinese “diplomatic extortion” and said it would only consider making donations once domestic demand has been met.
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