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As vaccination efforts dominate headlines the world over, China's Taiwan Office on Wednesday held a press conference emphasizing on maximum inoculations for the Taiwanese population to curb the spread of COVID-19.

The Chinese mainland's message was based on munificence and a concerted effort to provide blanket coverage, where free-of-charge offers had been made a week ago to ensure that the virulence of the infections are kept at bay. The Taiwan authority's response, however, has been that of defiance. It is concerned whether the mainland, through vaccine, would try to woo in the island's population.

Given the severity of the pandemic, it is critical for Taiwan authorities to accept such initiatives as goodwill gestures instead of initiatives with mala fide intentions.

When interviewed, many Taiwan residents expressed confidence at the efficacy of the mainland's vaccine. Reports published in the Lancet, one of the world's leading medical journals have buttressed the optimism expressed amongst members of the public in the island region.

However, Western countries have sought to promote vaccines developed in the United States and the United Kingdom without due cognizance of the efficacy of Chinese vaccines.

Efficacy based on facts alone is not an issue yet can certainly become one if the Taiwanese leadership chooses to politicize the mainland's initiative. So far, some in Taiwan hype that the mainland is attempting to reinforce Taiwan businessmen's allegiance towards it and further add pressure to the Democratic Progressive Party. This claim is eerily similar to outgoing Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's overall mantra on Chinese sincerity on dealing with the pandemic as well as fallacious claims that the mainland seeks to egregiously subjugate Taiwan residents through coercion.

Taiwan's Mainland Affair's Council claimed that inoculations are medical matters where vaccinations should not be used as a political tool. There is, however, no hint of political maneuvering by the Chinese central government. The Taiwan authorities, instead, are spreading baseless concerns that belie the reality of the vaccination program. If such narratives are continuously peddled, Taiwan authorities might deprive its residents of swift and largely effective vaccines on its doorsteps and rely more on Western vaccines such as AstraZeneca which are currently embroiled in issues with the European Union.

On politics alone, Western agendas aimed at promoting secession in Taiwan region should not detract from the irrefutable fact that the mainland has continued to cooperate with the island region on multiple fronts. The mainland in 2019 was Taiwan's largest trading partner. In 2018, both sides signed agreements allowing banks and financial service providers to access both markets.

Hence, the claim that the mainland is employing inoculation to secure predatory commercial interests in Taiwan is flawed given that in the very same year, Taiwan corporations reaped maximum benefits from arrangements such as the 2010 Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement.

Now, with economic losses hitting the island hard during the pandemic, it is critical that the mainland's vaccination offer is treated as a goodwill gesture anchored in historical avenues of economic cooperation.

It is also noteworthy that secessionist trends were propped up by an ousted and discredited Donald Trump administration which sought to isolate China on multiple fronts. The time now is ripe for a new and constructive approach towards dealing with COVID-19 in Taiwan.

The onus thus, lies solely with the Taiwan authorities to treat mainland inoculations drives with sincerity. Only then, can constructive and depoliticized engagement for the collective benefit of the infected residents in Taiwan take place. 

Scriptwriter: Hamzah Rifaat Hussain

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