[Correspondent Diary] Accusing Taiwan President of Quarantine Failure... The Politics of Vaccines

Taiwan Opposition's Political Offensive, President Tsai Ing-wen Reported to Prosecutors for Politicizing Infectious Disease
China Joins Criticism of President Tsai... Mainland Vaccine Refusal Deemed Inhumane Act

[Asia Economy Beijing=Special Correspondent Jo Young-shin] Chang Yajung, principal of Sun Yat-sen School in Taiwan, and other Kuomintang members have filed a complaint against President Tsai Ing-wen with the prosecution. They are accused of politicizing the infectious disease. As COVID-19 cases surge, President Tsai is facing a political crisis with her approval ratings plummeting. COVID-19 vaccines are having a significant impact on politics.

Global Times reported that Kuomintang members, the opposition party in Taiwan, have filed lawsuits against President Tsai, Premier Su Tseng-chang, and Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung. They claim that policies seriously threatening the lives and health of Taiwanese residents have exposed them to the risks of COVID-19.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

Principal Chang harshly criticized that the ruling party pushed Taiwanese residents toward death with misguided policies pursuing their own interests. Despite the COVID-19 fatality rate exceeding the global average, the ruling party led by President Tsai allegedly obstructed vaccine support from mainland China.

The Taiwanese opposition claims that China’s Fuxing Pharmaceutical announced it would supply 30 million doses of the Pfizer vaccine, jointly produced with Germany’s BioNTech, but the ruling party led by President Tsai rejected it. They launched a political offensive, arguing that President Tsai’s claim of being unable to receive Pfizer vaccines due to Chinese obstruction is deceiving the Taiwanese people.

These claims by the opposition have some credibility. As of the 11th, Taiwan’s cumulative COVID-19 cases reached about 12,000, with approximately 11,000 infected since April 15. Taiwan’s cumulative deaths stand at 385, with 373 occurring last month. The world’s top model for epidemic prevention has fallen into a failing state within a month.

Although President Tsai repeatedly apologized for the COVID-19 spread, public sentiment in Taiwan remains tense. A U.S. Senate delegation visited Taiwan with 750,000 vaccine doses, but public opinion has not easily shifted.

China has also begun criticizing the ruling party in Taiwan, including President Tsai, for failing in epidemic prevention. Global Times condemned the blocking of mainland vaccine administration to Taiwanese residents as an inhumane act. It claimed that China holds two vaccines approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) and that Chinese vaccines are currently used in over 90 countries. The outlet added that China’s goodwill in providing vaccines to Taiwanese compatriots is being framed solely as a unification ambition.

China’s state-run Xinhua News Agency criticized the Group of Seven (G7) summit. Although the U.S. announced it would provide 500 million vaccine doses, Xinhua called it a belated sharing.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.