Former Taiwan VP speaks out at Global COVID-19 Summit, China ditches event
By Stephanie Chiang, Taiwan News, Staff Writer
May 14th, 2022
During the second Global COVID-19 Summit held online, former Vice President Chen Chien-jen (陳建仁) announced Taiwan’s pledge to donate an additional US$1.5 million in support of vaccine coverage while continuing to provide medical equipment for countries in need.
In a pre-recorded speech, Chen introduced himself as a former VP of Taiwan and an epidemiologist at Academia Sinica, highlighting Taiwan’s contributions to the global anti-COVID effort. “Taiwan is a small island with a big heart. We have provided significant international humanitarian assistance to fight the spread of COVID-19.”
“Thanks to public and private partnerships, since April 2020, Taiwan has donated a total of US$17 million in medical supplies to more than 80 countries,” said Chen. “I am glad to announce that Taiwan pledges to donate a further US$1.5 million to support vaccine coverage. We also commit to continuing to provide medical masks, PCR testing machines, oxygen concentrators, and other supplies to countries in need.”
Meanwhile, China refused to join the summit, due to Taiwan’s presence by U.S. invitation. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) said during a press conference on Friday (May 13), that China was “unable” to attend the event due to the U.S.’ “disregard for China’s solemn stance” and going against the “one-China policy concensus.”
