TAIPEI — Foxconn and its billionaire founder Terry Gou sought permission from Taiwan’s government on Tuesday to buy COVID-19 vaccines from Germany’s BioNTech SE after the island was hit with a rise in infections.
The proposed purchase of 5 million doses, which would be distributed among the general population, comes after the government ceded to pressure from opposition parties to allow companies, religious groups, and local governments to arrange imports.
The Taiwanese government’s own deal with BioNTech fell through earlier this year – a problem Taiwan has blamed on pressure from Beijing. China has denied the accusation.
BioNTech declined to comment.
Gou, who has reti…
Keep on reading: Foxconn, founder Gou apply to purchase BioNTech vaccines for Taiwan