Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen said China prevented the self-ruled island from purchasing a vaccine developed by German pharmaceutical company BioNTech SE, as she spoke at a conference in Taipei on Wednesday.

The Taiwan government had nearly signed the vaccine deal with BioNTech, but the Chinese government intervened in the talks between the two parties, which led to the island being unable to sign a final contract, Tsai said, amid increasing tension between mainland China and Taiwan.

As the number of COVID-19 cases has been dramatically growing over the past week, Taiwan faces an urgent need to secure vaccines.

According to local media reports, Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group Co., a Chinese company, signed a contract with BioNTech, obtaining a right to sell the vaccine not only in China, Hong Kong and Macau but also in Taiwan, leading to the Chinese government's intervention in Taiwan's negotiations with the German company.

==Kyodo

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