Office of the President Republic of China(Taiwan)

On behalf of the Office of the President, Spokesperson Xavier Chang (張惇涵) thanked Japan for donating a further 1.13 million AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine doses, which arrived in Taiwan on the afternoon of July 8. Expressing our sincere gratitude to the government of Japan for its continued assistance, Spokesperson Chang said that Japan's donations of "friendship vaccines" have demonstrated our countries' close ties and touched the hearts of the Taiwanese people. Pending inspection, these doses will be distributed via Taiwan's vaccination program, where they will be of timely assistance to our disease prevention efforts.

Spokesperson Chang stated that President Tsai Ing-wen sincerely thanked the government of Japan for again lending a helping hand, praised Taiwan's diplomatic personnel for all their hard work, and expressed appreciation for the many others who contributed to this effort. Spokesperson Chang also noted that, although Taiwan and Japan still face challenges brought on by COVID-19, our two countries share a resolve to fight this disease, and have supported one another in our prevention efforts since the start of the pandemic, reflecting the firm friendship between our nations.

Spokesperson Chang said this donation proves once again that true friends helping each other creates a virtuous cycle, and expressed our hope that through joint efforts between Taiwan and Japan, we will all be able to overcome the pandemic. Spokesperson Chang added that with the Tokyo Olympics scheduled to begin soon, we hope the fighting spirit of the athletes set to compete in Tokyo amidst the pandemic will inspire people around the world.