台灣與BioNTech達成疫苗購買協議，打破數月僵局
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在今年的大部分時間裡，台灣從德國公司BioNTech購買疫苗的努力似乎成了台灣與中國政治緊張關係的犧牲品。台灣官員表示，他們在與BioNTech展開談判數月後，談判因未指明的「中國干預」而擱淺。北京官員否認了這一說法，並表示，鑒於BioNTech與復星的合作關係，台灣一開始就不應該直接與這家德國製藥商進行交易。
中國官員提出捐贈中國公司生產的疫苗，並表示歡迎台灣民眾在中國接種疫苗。但台灣法律禁止進口中國製造的疫苗，民意調查也顯示，許多台灣人不信任這些疫苗。到目前為止，該島2350萬居民中，已有約15%接種了第一劑疫苗。其中許多疫苗是由日本或美國捐贈的。
富士康、台積電和永齡週一在一份聯合聲明中試圖安撫台灣公眾，稱他們購買的BioNTech疫苗將直接從歐盟的工廠進口，並將貼上原始標籤。聲明說，預計這些疫苗最早將在9月底到達。
台灣駐德代表：BioNTech在疫苗採購中使用大中華區概念是「荒謬」的
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【彭博】– 台灣駐德國最高代表抨擊BioNTech SE授予一家中國公司其Covid-19疫苗在台灣的獨家經銷權。
這家德國疫苗製造商去年與上海復星醫藥集團有限公司簽署了一項協議，允許上海復星在大中華地區經銷其疫苗，其中包括中國大陸、香港、澳門和台灣。
台灣駐德代表謝志偉周二在Facebook發帖稱，他告訴德國人，在生命攸關的疫苗採購中使用「大中華區」的概念是荒謬的，尤其是在大陸以1000多枚飛彈瞄準台灣，並威脅要用戰機和軍艦入侵台灣的時候。
台灣最終通過鴻海精密創始人郭台銘和晶片巨頭台積電達成的兩項協議，獲得了1000萬劑BioNTech疫苗。兩家公司與上海復星和BioNTech簽署了採購協議，並計畫在9月運抵台灣後將這些疫苗捐贈給政府。
雖然謝志偉和台灣的其他一些人批評大中華區藥品分銷交易，但這種做法在業內並不少見，特別是如果一家中國公司在台灣有銷售業務。
原文標題Taiwan Envoy Calls BioNTech’s China Vaccine Rules ‘Ridiculous’
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Politics, health collided in Taiwan’s tortured BioNTech vaccine talks
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In this March 2021 photo provided by Pfizer, vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared for packaging at the company’s facility in Puu… In this March 2021 photo provided by Pfizer, vials of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine are prepared for packaging at the company’s facility in Puurs, Belgium. Pfizer is about to seek U.S. authorization for a third dose of its COVID-19 vaccine, saying Thursday, July 8, 2021, that another shot within 12 months could dramatically boost immunity and maybe help ward off the latest worrisome coronavirus mutant. (Pfizer via AP) (AP photo)
As talks for Taiwan to access BioNTech SE’s COVID-19 vaccine via two major Taiwanese companies reached a head last week, the German firm’s Chinese sales agent put forward a template contract seeking access to Taiwanese medical records.
The clause sparked alarm, as such a requirement would be anathema for Taiwan’s government, long wary of Beijing’s attempts at influence over the democratic island, a source with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
“The other side did propose such a contract template, which made negotiators in Taiwan and the Taiwan government feel puzzled and troubled, but after talks, the other side stopped insisting and adjusted it in a short time,” the source said.
Reuters could not determine why Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd sent the template, and the company did not respond to requests for comment.
But the incident highlights how politics became entangled with a public health issue, laying bare wider disagreements between the governments of China and Taiwan.
The BioNTech issue has challenged China’s efforts to project a benign global image through vaccine diplomacy, especially after Taiwan’s direct deal with BioNTech collapsed in January.
Shortly after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen accused China in late May of blocking her government’s deal with BioNTech, Japan and the United States announced they would donate millions of vaccines to the island.
Germany also said it had been helping in Taiwan’s talks with BioNTech.
CONTENTIOUS CONTRACT
Fosun’s contract template, a copy of which was reviewed by Reuters, stipulated that it or its “authorised representatives” should have the right to audit the vaccination process, including checking facilities and reviewing documentation.
It also granted Fosun the right to collect data and interview vaccine recipients, something more akin to a clinical trial than a mass vaccination scheme.
Two other sources briefed on the talks said that personal information was never going to be sent to China, and that the contract was only a template based on a deal signed with Chinese-run Hong Kong.
“It was just that - a template” and a starting point for negotiations, one of the sources said.
On Sunday, Fosun said an agreement had been signed to provide the vaccines to two Taiwanese tech firms, Foxconn (2317.TW) and TSMC (2330.TW). Taiwan’s government allowed them last month to negotiate on its behalf, after public pressure about the slow pace of vaccines arriving.
TSMC said the template was not the contract they signed, and declined to comment further.
A representative for Foxconn’s billionaire founder Terry Gou, who led a high-profile campaign to buy the vaccines and donate them to Taiwan’s government, rejected the idea that the template was a problem, or that detailed data would have been sent to China.
Other data, such as reporting on patients who have serious reactions to vaccine shots, will be closely protected, she said.
“The follow-up information exchange shall comply with Taiwan regulations, protect privacy, and be used for medical purposes,” Amanda Liu told Reuters.
China’s Taiwan Affairs Office referred Reuters to a faxed statement on June 23 in which it denied seeking to block Taiwan from getting vaccines from overseas.
It said Taiwan’s government “on the one hand refuses mainland vaccines and on the other blames it for the lack of vaccines on the island”.
BioNTech did not respond to questions about the template contract. Taiwan’s Presidential Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
China’s government had said repeatedly that if Taiwan wanted the BioNTech vaccine it had to do it through Fosun.
Chinese state media has also relentlessly focused on how bad the pandemic was in Taiwan, though even the latest outbreak was relatively small and is now well under control.
The drama has fascinated Taiwan’s public and led news coverage for weeks, even as other vaccines directly purchased by the government from AstraZeneca and Moderna arrive.
One Taiwan-based official familiar with the vaccine talks said Taiwan arguably did not need vaccine deliveries as urgently as countries such as Indonesia and Thailand, where the virus is spreading fast.
Moreover, he said, Taiwan’s accusations that China earlier obstructed the BioNTech shots worked in Taipei’s favour because it prompted Washington and Tokyo into action.
“This was always a political not a health issue,” he said.