DPP ‘ beholden to US for vaccine aid’ amid murky political dealings
Following verbal support to the island of Taiwan on recent G7 summit, the US shipped a batch of 2.5 million Moderna COVID- 19 vaccines to the pandemic- hit island, as Taiwan residents are mired in a panic brought by Japan- shipped AstraZeneca ( AZ) vaccines, as the island has witnessed 67 deaths after receiving AZ jabs.
The batch of 2.5 million Moderna vaccines arrived on the island on Sunday. The US initially pledged to deliver 750,000 doses to Taiwan, which was announced during a visit by three senators to Taiwan by a C- 17 US military aircraft on June 6 and was described as “timely rain” by the island’s regional leader Tsai Ing- wen who is facing a huge wave of pressure from people and opposition camp due to the continued snub to Chinese mainland vaccines.
Tsai expressed her gratitude for the US’ latest shipment during a livestream speech on Facebook, describing the US as “a friend in need is a friend indeed.” The head of Taiwan’s health authority, Chen Shihchung, held up a thank- you board, as shown in a photo as he received the batch of vaccines at the airport.
Tsai said that with the 2.5 million doses, there is a total of 4.85 million doses of COVID- 19 vaccines in Taiwan.
So far, only 6 percent of Taiwan’s total population of 23.5 million has received at least one jab, with over 40 million more doses needed for the island to achieve herd immunity, media reported.
Experts believe it is unrealistic that this batch of Mod
erna vaccines will alleviate the vaccine shortage, nor the public’s fear of AZ vaccination. A doctor from a Taipei- based hospital warned that even if people switch from AZ to Moderna, similar cases may continue to happen, Taiwan media reported.
Experts reached by the Global Times on Sunday said that US delivery is a drop in the bucket for the island. By offering vaccines to the island in a “toothpaste- squeezing manner,” it will relieve the political pressure on the secessionist Democratic Progressive Party ( DPP) and make it beholden to the US and fully cooperate with Washington’s Indo- Pacific strategy to act as the vanguard to confront the Chinese mainland.
Observers said that the US did not extend a helping hand to Taiwan in the first place out of kinship and humanitarianism as the mainland did, instead, semiconductor chip supply and the arms sales are the reasons why the US has later showed care to Taiwan.
Washington’s calculation
The island’s defense authority on Thursday announced two arms procurement deals with the US, including one “long- range precision fire system” and “a batch of missiles,” Taiwan media reported. Analysts said the arms sale is not a coincidence, and that more murky political deals are going on.
The vaccine shipment comes at a time when the US is negotiating with the island on securing supply chains for strategic items such as computer chips. Taiwan is a major supplier of chips that are vital to the US automobile and other industries.
Xu Zhengwen, head of the Taiwan Chamber of Commerce, said that Washington’s sudden “kindness” came at a “delicate timing,” as a bipartisan group of US senators had just proposed a 25 percent tax credit for investments in semiconductor manufacturing in a bid to increase the country’s chip production.
“The donation of these doses could be aimed in exchange for Taiwan’s largest semiconductor manufacturer TSMC to invest in the US,” he said.
In terms of political sectors, Wang Jianmin, a senior cross- Straits expert at Minnan Normal University, Fujian Province, said that after the saga of the US’ anti- China roadshow in Europe, the US needs the island of Taiwan to do more to counter the mainland.
Despite the fact that the US did not come to Taiwan’s aid swiftly during the worst of the epidemic on the island, the 2.5 million doses will ease the DPP’s pressure to some extent facing the discontent and criticism over the repeated rejection of the mainland vaccine, Wang said.
Taiwan experts and residents also questioned the DPP authority why it is not suspending the vaccination of AZ vaccine for elderly people given the dozens of deaths after the AZ vaccine jab in a week. Australia recommended that the AZ COVID- 19 jab should not be given to people under 60 on Thursday.
Cheng Po- yu, executive director of the crossStraits Youth Exchange Association who were vaccinated in Beijing in May, said that even with the 2.5 million doses, the vast majority of Taiwan people still have no chance to get one, as the DPP authorities have prioritized those related to key industries such as semiconductors, which the US also prefers to ensure their own supply chains won’t be affected,” Cheng told the Global Times.