TAIPEI (TAIWAN) – Taiwan’s health minister said the deal to buy 5 million doses of a coronavirus vaccine developed by Germany’s BioNTech SE has been put on hold because of the Chinese pressure for the delay.
Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said they were on the verge of announcing the deal to procure the shots when BioNTech pulled the plug.
Although he did not blame China for the delay, he implied there was a political dimension to the decision, adding that he had been worried about “outside forces intervening”.
“Certain people don’t want Taiwan to be too happy,” he added, without explaining further, in a radio interview.
Beijing, which claims the island as its sovereign territory, has repeatedly sparred with Taipei over the pandemic.
The pharma company inked a deal with Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co Ltd to exclusively develop and market COVID-19 vaccine products developed by using BioNTech’s mRNA technology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
In return for the vaccine, Taiwan agreed to pay up to $85 million in licencing fees and invest $50 million for a stake in the firm.
Chen said BioNTech had not asked them to speak to Fosun, and the deal was only pending and “not torn up”.