Taiwan

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Health care workers received the first shots in Taiwan’s COVID-19 vaccination drive Monday, beginning a campaign that won’t use supplies from China amid uneven distribution of the vaccines globally.

Taiwan has on hand 117,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine, which it is distributing to healthcare workers across 57 hospitals.

Taiwanese premier Su Tseng-chang launched the drive by receiving the first shot at National Taiwan University Hospital in the capital Taipei. “After 30 minutes of rest, there’s no signs of any discomfort,” he said.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has approved a new COVID-19 vaccine for emergency use, one that was developed by the head of its Center for Disease Control, adding to its arsenal.

Gao Fu, the head of China’s CDC, led the development of a protein subunit vaccine that was approved by regulators last week for emergency use, the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Microbiology said in a statement Monday.

It is the fourth such vaccine to be given emergency use approval. China has approved four vaccines developed by three Chinese companies for general use.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan central bank governor Yang Chin-long said on Thursday that the United States may label the island a currency manipulator as it has already met Washington’s three main criteria for making such a decision.

Yang, answering lawmaker questions in parliament, added that if this happens it would not be too serious and that there would be no immediate disadvantage for Taiwan and they did not expect to be subject to so-called “Section 301” measures that might lead to tariffs.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - The de facto U.S. and Canadian embassies in Taiwan on Tuesday praised the quality of pineapples grown on the island, depicting photographs of their top diplomats in Taipei with the fruit after an import ban by China.

China last week stopped the import of Taiwanese pineapples, citing “harmful creatures” it said could come with the fruit.

Infuriated Taiwanese authorities called the ban a political move to further pressure the island, a charge that China denied.

TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen reached out to the people of Hong Kong in a Lunar New Year message on Wednesday, telling them that while democracy is not perfect it is humankind’s best system and they should keep the faith.

Democratic Taiwan has become a safe haven for many Hong Kongers who have fled the Chinese-run city in the face of a mounting crackdown on dissent after Beijing unveiled a new tough security law last year following months of protests.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — China has given broader approval for the domestic-made Sinovac coronavirus vaccine, expanding those who can receive it beyond the high-risk and priority groups already allowed under an emergency clearance.

Regulators gave conditional approval for Sinovac Biotech Ltd’s shot, CoronaVac, on Friday, clearing the way for general use, The National Medical Products Administration announced in a statement Saturday

TAIPEI (Reuters) - A U.S. warship sailed near the Chinese-controlled Paracel Islands in the disputed South China Sea on Friday in a freedom of navigation operation, the U.S. Navy said, the first such mission under President Joe Biden’s new administration.

China’s military condemned the move, saying it had dispatched naval and air units to follow and warn away the ship.

The busy waterway is one of a number of flashpoints in the U.S.-China relationship, which include a trade war, U.S. sanctions, Hong Kong and Taiwan.

TAIPEI, Feb 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Taiwan has set up a trade office in Guyana, officials announced on Thursday, a step the United States called a “milestone” as the island tries to push back against China’s campaign to keep it isolated.

Taipei said it signed an agreement with the South American country last month to set up the Taiwan Office.

“This milestone will benefit both partners and advance security, democratic values and prosperity in the region,” Julie Chung, acting assistant secretary of the State Department’s Bureau of Western Hemisphere Affairs, wrote on Twitter.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — Chinese state media have played up questions about Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and whether it could be lethal to the very old. A government spokesperson suggests the coronavirus could have emerged from a U.S. military lab.

As the ruling Communist Party faces growing questioning about China’s vaccines and renewed criticism of its early COVID response, it is hitting back by encouraging fringe theories that some experts say could cause harm.

TAIPEI, Taiwan (AP) — A Chinese lawyer who represented a Hong Kong pro-democracy activist was stripped of his license amid efforts by Beijing to crush opposition to its tighter control over the territory.

Lu Siwei, who represented one of 12 Hong Kong activists who tried to flee to Taiwan, had his license revoked by the Sichuan Provincial Justice Department in a formal notice given Friday.