US donation of COVID vaccine shields Tsai from political pressure: analysts

蘋果日報 2021/06/22 06:45


Washington’s donation of 2.5 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine to Taiwan helps to relieve the increasing political pressure on Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, analysts said on Monday.
The latest outbreak of the novel coronavirus on the self-ruled island, which began in mid-May, comes a year ahead of local elections and is widely seen as a test of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party’s capacity to govern.
Fan Shih-ping, a professor of East Asian studies at Taiwan’s National Taiwan Normal University, said the outbreak has sparked various politically motivated “maneuvers”, such as criticisms of Taiwan’s insufficient vaccine supply, with some voices calling for the island to seek vaccines and other assistance from mainland China.
But vaccine donations from both the United States and Japan have shown that when Taiwan faces a critical challenge, both of those allies will be there to lend a helping hand, Fan said.
Wang Kao-cheng, the dean of Tamking University’s College of International Affairs, said Washington’s timely donation of vaccines has helped to strengthen U.S.-Taiwan relations and prevented Beijing’s influence from entering Taiwan.
Washington’s decision to send 2.5 million doses of the Moderna vaccine came after Taiwan reportedly attempted to procure BioNTech vaccines through Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma. The donation is seen as part of the race between mainland China and the U.S. to pursue diplomacy through donations.
The 2.5 million doses from the U.S. arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Sunday afternoon.
Click here for Chinese version
---------------------------------
Apple Daily’s all-new English Edition is now available on the mobile app: bit.ly/2yMMfQE
To download the latest version,
Or search Appledaily in App Store or Google Play