TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) on Monday (June 14) revealed that during negotiations with Foxconn Technology founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) on an application to import doses of the BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine with, the billionaire included the controversial condition that his employees be the first to receive shots.
At a press conference on Monday, CECC head Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) announced that negotiations have commenced between the center and Foxconn on the purchase of BioNTech vaccine doses and are now covering the legal documents required. Chen revealed that during the talks, Gou had expressed his "hope that employees can receive the vaccine first."
Chen stressed that the most important issue now is to obtain power of attorney, certified by the original manufacturer. If this can be obtained, "we can have further discussions," said Chen.
In addition, it was reported on Saturday (June 5) that Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd claims that it is the sole distributor of BioNTech's COVID-19 vaccine for the "Greater China region," including Taiwan. Therefore, Fosun claims that any purchase of doses for use in Taiwan must go through it.
During a press conference on Sunday, Chen said that based on recent developments, "It appears that [Fosun] have distribution rights, and we will respect their distribution rights. This is a commercial practice." However, he said that he hopes that "Shanghai Fosun's distribution rights will not interfere with our purchase of the vaccines."
