Taipei, June 4 (CNA) A shipment of 1.24 million doses of the AstraZeneca COVID-19 vaccine, donated by Japan, arrived Friday in Taiwan, which has been struggling to procure vaccines amid a spike in domestic cases.
The Chinese government criticizes Taiwan for acquiring more than 1 million doses of the novel coronavirus vaccine developed by Britain s AstraZeneca Plc from Japan.
Reuters
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King Mswati III of Swaziland waits to address attendees during the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly at the U.N. headquarters in New York, September 29, 2015. REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
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eSwatini s King Mswati III said he had recovered from COVID-19 after Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen sent antiviral medication to help him.
The small southern African country, an absolute monarchy formerly known as Swaziland, is Taiwan s only remaining diplomatic ally on the continent, and Taipei has provided large amounts of economic and other aid.
In a speech on Friday, the king said while the country awaited the arrival of vaccines, there was an antiviral drug that could be used to treat the illness, which he did not name.
Countering China’s Intimidation of Taiwan
BY ROBERT S. WANG
On the first weekend following President Joe Biden’s inauguration, Taiwan’s Defense Ministry reported back-to-back incursions by two large fleets of Chinese military aircraft into Taiwan’s self-declared southwestern air defense identification zone. On Jan. 23, the fleet comprised eight nuclear weapon–capable Chinese H-6K bomber planes, four J-16 fighter jets and one anti-submarine aircraft. This was followed the next day by another fleet of 12 fighters, two anti-submarine aircraft and a reconnaissance plane. Beijing repeated these exercises several times in the subsequent months.
Since the election of Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen in 2016, Beijing has markedly stepped up military pressure on Taipei. According to Taiwan, Beijing sent warplanes into the same area on at least 100 days in 2020. In January 2021, Chinese military planes flew into that zone 26 out of the first 30 days. Previously, such flights were usu