TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The spokesperson for China's Taiwan Affairs Office (TAO), Zhu Fenglian (朱鳳蓮), said Monday (July 5) that going through Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group is the only way for Taiwan to acquire BioNTech vaccine doses.

Zhu pointed out that Shanghai Fosun had signed a deal with Germany’s BioNTech in March 2020 to participate in the development of the vaccine and has exclusive commercial rights to sell it in "Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan," Liberty Times reported.

Zhu said Shanghai Fosun has made it clear it is willing to provide the vaccine to “Taiwan compatriots.” Any Taiwanese county, city, private institution, or enterprise can purchase BioNTech doses from Shanghai Fosun in accordance with standard business regulations, she said.

Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chu-yin (林楚茵) said that China has been actively sabotaging Taiwan’s vaccine procurement efforts from the very beginning and that it uses terms like “Taiwan area” in order to delegitimize the country's sovereignty and portray it as being part of China. He added that Zhu’s comments show that China is politically manipulative and disregards the health of Taiwanese.

Foxconn founder Terry Gou (郭台銘) and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) on July 2 reached an initial agreement with a Shanghai Fosun subsidiary, with Gou and TSMC each buying 5 million BioNTech doses, according to a Reuters report. They will be transported directly to Taiwan from the German manufacturer, it said .