Sidestepping China, Taiwan tech companies buy 10m Covid vaccine doses

Taiwan and China have engaged in a geopolitical battle over the years.

The US$350m purchase from German manufacturer BioNTech is split between TSMC, the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturer, and Foxconn, one of the world’s largest contract electronics makers, and its charity foundation. The two companies will donate the vaccines to Taiwan’s central epidemic command centre for distribution, The Guardian reported.

The convoluted deal, formalised on Sunday, closes the loop on a saga that tied China’s long-held but rejected claim over Taiwan to the island’s desperate need for vaccines, and allows Taiwan to procure the China-linked vaccines without the government having to deal directly with China, the newspaper reported.

Taiwan has been suffering from shortages in vaccine supply.

Taiwan has also accused Beijing of scuttling an early deal to secure 5m doses directly from BioNTech.

Beijing denies the accusation, saying Shanghai-based Fosun Pharmaceuticals had sole distribution rights for the region including Taiwan, and that Taiwan was welcome to go through them, reports The Guardian.

Taiwan has rejected China’s offers as fake altruism. China has accused Taiwan of putting politics above its people, while simultaneously lambasting doses donated by the US and Japan as foreign interference, the newspaper reported.