China hits out at Taiwan over virus vaccinations

Chinese Foreign Ministry on Friday accused Taiwan's governing party of preventing the mainland from sending vaccines to Taiwan and of falsely claiming that China has hindered its procurement of vaccines.

Wang Wenbin, a spokesperson for the Foreign Ministry, called the island's act a "disregard for the lives and health of Taiwan compatriots and violates the basic humanitarian spirit" at a daily news briefing.

The accusations came hours after Japan's donation of 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine touched down in Taiwan to help the vaccine-starved island fight its largest outbreak since the pandemic began.

The donation underscores how geopolitics has come to impact the global vaccine rollout, as countries scramble to secure enough doses for their populations.

Taiwan's leader Tsai Ing-wen accused China last month of blocking Taiwan from getting the Pfizer-made vaccine through BioNTech, the German co-developer.

China, which claims Taiwan as its territory, objects to calling the island a country.

It is also a potentially major market for BioNTech, which has partnered with Shanghai-based Fosun Pharma to manufacture its vaccine in China and distribute it in the mainland and Hong Kong.

Fosun said in a recent interview with China's official Xinhua News Agency that it has offered to sell the vaccines to Taiwan, but Taiwanese law bans Chinese-made medical products, including vaccines.