TAIWAN GETS 1.2M VACCINE DOSES FROM JAPAN BUT CHINA HOWLS

A flight carrying 1.24 million doses of AstraZeneca coronavirus vaccine from Japan has touched down in Taiwan to the delight of millions of its citizens while China howled, the Associated Press (AP) reported.

The donation underscores how geopolitics have come to impact the global vaccination rollout, as countries scramble to secure enough vaccines for their populations. Taiwan, a self-governing island, has struggled to get its own vaccines, blaming China for interfering in a deal.

As expected, even before the flight from Japan touched down in Taipei, China slammed Taiwan for accepting vaccines from Japan, sounding as if it has the moral authority to lecture Taipei on what it must do to protect its people from the COVID-19 virus, Kyodo News also reported.

The Taiwanese government, led by the Democratic Progressive Party, "has blocked vaccine shipments from the mainland," Beijing said in a statement. “Accepting safe and well-stocked vaccines developed by the mainland can help contain the virus" on the island, the Chinese government said.

Late last month, however, Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen criticized China for preventing Taiwan from purchasing vaccines developed by German pharmaceutical company BioNTech SE, but China claimed it did not obstruct the purchase.

Not content with hitting Taiwan, China also warned the Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga not to use vaccine assistance to Taiwan as "a tool for selfish political gains."

WEEKLY FEATURE : TRUEMONEY PHILIPPINES BUCKS THE COVID-19 CHALLENGE