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Japan donates 1.2 million doses of COVID vaccines to Taiwan, prompting anger from Beijing

蘋果日報 2021/06/05 05:41


Taiwan received a donation of 1.2 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine from Japan on Friday, to help the self-ruled island battle a recent outbreak.
A Japan Airlines flight carrying the vaccine arrived at Taoyuan International Airport, near Taipei, 42 minutes ahead of schedule on Friday. The plane was escorted over the East China Sea by a United States MC-12W surveillance aircraft, according to aviation fans.
Taipei expressed gratitude to Tokyo, saying its regional neighbor had again offered timely help in keeping with their long-standing friendship.
The self-ruled island on Friday reported 472 domestic cases of COVID-19, including 133 cases from previous days, and 21 deaths. The western city of Miaoli accounted for the majority of Friday’s cases, at 51.
According to the Japanese newspaper Sankei Shimbun, former prime minister Shinzo Abe and lawmakers from his Liberal Democratic Party had helped to speed up the vaccine donation.
Across the strait, the mainland’s Taiwan Affairs Office reacted bitterly to Japan’s donation, saying Taiwan had “played politics” by accepting Japan’s vaccines while refusing jabs supplied by the mainland.
The office accused Taipei of putting politics above the well-being of Taiwanese people by repeatedly rejecting offers of vaccine from Beijing for various reasons.
Several cities in China’s southern Guangdong province have also seen recent outbreaks of domestic infections. On Thursday, the province reported seven new domestic cases. Guangzhou accounted for six while nearby Foshan reported one case.
Authorities on Friday stepped up traffic controls between the two cities, closing roads connected to certain districts in Guangzhou.
Health officials launched a new round of compulsory testing for residents in Shenzhen’s Yantian district, where a handful of asymptomatic cases were reported.
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