Taiwan says deal to get 5 million Covid-19 vaccine doses from BioNTech halted due to 'external force'

Without naming China, he said "certain people" don't want Taiwan to be "too happy".

Kayla Wong | February 17, 2021, 06:22 PM

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Taiwan said that a deal to buy five million doses of the Covid-19 vaccine from German biotechnology company BioNTech has been stalled, due to pressure from certain "external forces".

Deal halted in the last minute

Speaking to the media on Wednesday morning (Feb. 17), Taiwan's Health and Welfare Minister Chen Shih-chung said that although preparations have already been made for the deal with BioNTech to be signed, an issue cropped up unexpectedly at "the last step of the very last step".

"I withheld information (during a previous press conference) regarding which company we were getting the vaccines from as some changes might still occur, and indeed changes cropped up in the last minute," he said.

While he said the agreement still exists, it has been put on hold just as Taiwan was about to ink the deal with BioNTech.

BioNTech partnered with Chinese company to distribute vaccines in Greater China

In response to a reporter's question if the development was due to the interference of Chinese pharmaceutical company, Fosun Pharma, Chen said he "does not dare to make that conjecture".

However, he added that it is rare for international parties and businesses that have been dealing with each other over a period of time to suddenly decide not to proceed with a deal.

"I can't say for certain what caused the deal to be halted, but this is indeed unusual," he added.

In a separate interview with Taiwan radio station Hit FM, Chen clarified that BioNTech has partnered with Fosun Pharma to distribute its vaccines in the Greater China region which includes Taiwan as well.

He said: "It is only natural for Fosun Pharma to want to protect its business interests."

When asked if Beijing was the force stopping Taiwan from getting vaccines from BioNTech, Chen reiterated that he could not say anything for sure.

According to Reuters, BioNTech and Fosun Pharma had signed a deal for the latter to exclusively develop and commercialise Covid-19 vaccine products in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

As for the rest of the world, BioNTech's development and distribution partner is U.S. firm Pfizer.

Taiwan health minister: "Certain people" don't want Taiwan to be "too happy"

But while Chen did not explicitly mention China, he implied in the same interview that the deal was put on hold due to the interference of "external forces", Central News Agency (CNA) reported.

Chen added: "Certain people don't want Taiwan to be too happy."

Chen further said Taiwan has always been in a difficult position internationally, citing past examples of the self-ruled island being excluded from global health bodies like the World Health Organization, and related health conferences.

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Top image via Central News Agency