Foxconn founder outfoxes Europeans to ship BioNTech doses to Taiwan in August

Foxconn founder outfoxes Europeans to ship BioNTech doses to Taiwan in August

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Terry Gou holding up vial of Comirnaty vaccine after receiving shot in Prague. (Facebook, Terry Gou photo) Terry Gou holding up vial of Comirnaty vaccine after receiving shot in Prague. (Facebook, Terry Gou photo)

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Between 1.5 to 2 million doses of the Pfizer–BioNTech (BNT) COVID-19 vaccine could arrive in Taiwan after the Foxconn founder outmaneuvered European rivals, according to local media reports.

While becoming the first person to receive the domestic COVID-19 vaccine developed by Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp. (高端疫苗, MVC) on Monday (Aug. 23), President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) remarked that a new shipment of vaccines would arrive at the end of August. That could be a reference to the 15 million doses of the BioNTech vaccine purchased by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), Foxconn’s YongLin Foundation, and the Tzu Chi Foundation, the first batch of which UDN reports Zuellig Pharma could be delivering to Taiwan as soon as the end of August.

It is estimated that 1.5 to 2 million doses of the BioNTech jab will be delivered to Taiwan by late August. However, this would only come to fruition so long as there is no “political interference” over labeling, according to a source familiar with the matter who spoke with the newspaper.

TSMC, YongLin, and Tzu Chi signed a four-party contract with BioNTech for the vaccines on July 12, and the Ministry of Health and Welfare provided Emergency Use Authorization for the jab on Aug. 3. One of the conditions set by Taiwan’s government was that the vaccine doses should not contain the labels of BioNTech’s Chinese partner Fosun Pharma or the shot’s official brand name Comirnaty, necessitating custom labels.

With the relabeling factored in, the first batch of vaccines was estimated to be delivered from Germany to Taiwan on Sept. 18. This would match with reports that the first wave of BioNTech doses would arrive in Taiwan before the Mid-Autumn Festival, which falls on Sept. 21 of this year.

However, according to the report, the shipment that is set to arrive in August was obtained by Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and non-governmental organizations. This batch has apparently been diverted from a shipment originally meant for European countries, but will likely be marked with the Comirnaty brand.

It is believed that the doses provided in this first batch will have the same labeling as the jab Gou received in the Czech Republic on Aug. 4. That day, Gou received his first dose of the BioNTech vaccine in a shopping mall in Prague.

A close look at the vial and certificate show that the brand Comirnaty was used, but there is no mention of Fosun as the product is for the European market. Early in the pandemic, in March of 2020, Fosun signed a deal with BioNTech that gave it exclusive rights to sell the vaccine in the “Greater China” market, which it claims includes Taiwan.

During his visit to Europe, Gou realized that European countries were competing for a shipment of the vaccine. He engaged in the bidding process and apparently succeeded in securing a large batch for Taiwan, ahead of schedule, with the original labels still intact.

According to sources among the organizations involved in acquiring the vaccines, half of the 15 million doses should arrive in Taiwan by November. They are reportedly to be shipped to Taiwan in batches of 1.5 to 2 million each month.

It is therefore believed that 1.5 to 2 million doses will be part of the first wave in August.

Gou’s wrote on social media about his inoculation with the BioNTech vaccine at a mall in Prague:

東南亞短片節25日登場 播映4部台灣作品

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2021東南亞短片節25日登場，活動將以線上方式舉行，期間將播映4部台灣作品。（主辦單位提供） (圖：中央社)

2021東南亞短片節今天(25日)登場，受到疫情影響，今年活動再度以線上方式舉行，8月25日至9月2日期間將播映來自台灣、越南、馬來西亞、新加坡、柬埔寨、泰國、日本等的60部短片。

在文化部及駐馬來西亞台北經濟文化辦事處文化組推動下，今年活動將播映4部台灣金穗獎短片，促進台馬文化交流。金穗獎創辦於1978年，目的為鼓勵新銳創作者，是備受台灣影壇關注的指標性競賽，也是不少台灣重要影人的搖籃，包括知名導演李安、蔡明亮等人。

第5屆東南亞短片節將於8月25日至9月2日舉行，主辦單位表示，將以「No Home Movies」短片觀摩單元播映4部金穗獎短片。

這4部作品中，「回流」運用3D掃描技術將導演胡鈞荃自己及對緬甸華人母親的記憶拼湊起來，以尋找自己出身的背景；「季候風」則像是一封省思離家經驗的長情家書；「入世」講述的是印尼看護成為台灣傳統喪禮家屬代表的故事；「女兒牆」以獨角戲方式側寫外籍配偶在台的婚姻心路歷程。

由於2019冠狀病毒疾病（COVID-19）疫情持續肆虐，今年活動將延續去年做法，以線上方式進行，播放來自台灣、越南、馬來西亞、新加坡、柬埔寨、菲律賓、緬甸、泰國、印尼、日本等國家的60部短片。

東南亞短片節（SeaShorts Film Festival）由馬來西亞著名電影導演陳翠梅女士於2017年創辦，希望透過引進大量東南亞短片到馬來西亞放映以促進文化交流。每年主要活動項目包括短片競賽、短片觀摩、論壇及工作坊等。

東南亞短片節舉辦至今已放映超過420部短片，前3 屆短片節分別在馬來西亞國內3個不同城市舉辦。短片節是東南亞短片協會（SeaShorts Film Society）舉辦的年度大型活動之一，協會宗旨是希望以短片作為媒介促進東南亞不同文化間的欣賞與理解，以及展示優秀的短片作品。

暌違3個多月 台灣本土新冠病例再次零確診

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