Photo:VCG

As of May 31, some 62,000 Taiwan compatriots had received their COVID-19 vaccine jabs on the Chinese mainland according to incomplete statistics, according to Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council. The Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authorities have spared no effort to play down the influence of mainland vaccines' on the island of Taiwan. However, the number of Taiwan compatriots who have received vaccine shots on the mainland demonstrates the Taiwan people's actual willingness to use vaccines developed on the Chinese mainland.

DPP authorities have blocked vaccines from mainland to be used on the island. Meanwhile, they are using their vaccination record systems to discriminate against people who have received jabs on the mainland and refuse to recognize them as vaccinated. Even so, many Taiwan compatriots still have chosen to come to the mainland for inoculation. It is predictable that if DPP authorities stop creating obstacles around mainland vaccines and lift the restrictions, a vast majority of residents on the island will gain access to mainland vaccines in a very short time. 

In addition to the central government's constant expression of its clear willingness to provide vaccines for the island of Taiwan, local governments and institutions of many places including Shanghai, Jiangsu, and Fujian have gotten ready to provide vaccine assistance to the island of Taiwan. Besides, the Chinese mainland has two vaccines, developed by Sinopharm and Sinovac, that have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO). The two vaccines are considered global public goods for combatting the pandemic, with both guaranteeing safety and high levels of efficacy. They are beyond comparable to the local vaccines that are still being developed on the island of Taiwan. 

DPP authorities have hyped that the mainland's willingness to provide vaccines for Taiwan compatriots is "fake goodwill" and "political move" aimed at "reunification of the island." This is because they are merely thinking about politics, so they view any move from a political angle. The Chinese mainland's assistance to the island is humanitarian, consistent with the mainland's long-standing policies toward Taiwan. In the contrast, DPP's refusal to mainland vaccines is nothing but blunt political manipulation. It would be highly feasible for the island to accept mainland vaccines if the DPP was not in power. The current obstacles are imposed by DPP authorities on Taiwan people. 

It must be pointed out that DPP authorities have a track record of putting politics before the well-being of people. Over 90 countries and regions around the world have used Chinese mainland's vaccines. But DPP doesn't think the same. The US has been engaged in drastic conflicts with the Chinese mainland while it has also imported a significant volume of face masks from the mainland - about 120 masks per American - also in addition to PPE and ventilators. India has had a rough time with China, but New Delhi has separated politics with its anti-epidemic efforts - India has seen Chinese mainland as the biggest origin to import oxygenerators and other lifesaving equipment that India's hospitals urgently need. 

However, DPP authorities have chosen to be defying and denying Taiwan residents their right to much needed vaccine. The DPP would rather have Taiwan people get infected and see the COVID-19 death toll surpass 300 than cooperate with the Chinese mainland or use mainland vaccines. DPP authorities' obsession with ideology over sound policy over the years has disrupted the basic value judgments of a considerable number of Taiwan people. The mental chaos in the island's society has become a moat for the anti-humanitarian fortress of DPP authorities during the epidemic.

DPP seems to be on a path of no return going all-in on political manipulation to secure its grip on power. DPP authorities are not prioritizing the control of infection and death numbers. They are engaged in the most careless epidemic fight around the world, which history will eventually  judge that it is "evil".