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TSMC and Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd./YongLin Foundation announced they have each completed the purchase of 5 million doses of BioNTech (BNT) 162b2 vaccine, for a total of 10 million doses, and donated them to the Taiwan Centers for Disease Control (CDC) of the Executive Yuan Ministry of Health and Welfare for epidemic prevention.
In light of the severe global impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, TSMC, Hon Hai, and the YongLin Foundation quickly began to evaluate and make arrangements for vaccine purchase and donation as the epidemic in Taiwan intensified. Thanks to support from multiple parties, including the Office of the President, Executive Yuan, Ministry of Health and Welfare, and the Taiwan CDC for authorization, the contracts for the BNT162b2 vaccines were signed and all purchased BNT162b2 vaccines were donated to the Taiwan CDC. The vaccines are expected to arrive in Taiwan in batches after the end of September at the earliest, according to the production schedules of the German manufacturer and vaccination progress in Taiwan. Three principles were followed in making this donation – the vaccines must be made in the original production facility, marked with original labelling, and be delivered directly to Taiwan to ensure the vaccines meet Taiwan CDC standards and comply with relevant regulations.
After the donation of the BNT162b2 vaccine, please refer to announcements by the Ministry of Health and Welfare for further information on delivery schedules and vaccination arrangements.
Terry Gou, Founder of YongLin Foundation, stated, “It was May 23 when I proposed to the government to donate BNT vaccines. It was until June 18 that the Executive Yuan announced publicly to authorize TSMC and Foxconn/YongLin Foundation to negotiate the purchase of BNT vaccines on behalf of the government. From day one, I understood the heavy responsibility of bringing BNT vaccines to Taiwan. No matter how difficult the process is, my team and I have never given up hope. We have been working ceaselessly to complete all the legal processes and documents. We can certainly feel the anxiety of waiting for the BNT vaccines just like everyone else. Today I am happy to announce that we have signed all legal documents with relevant parties to procure and donate BNT vaccines to Taiwan CDC. The BNT vaccines directly shipped from Germany and/or other EU countries will give the people of Taiwan some breathing room and more confidence in facing the pandemic. The global pandemic situations are still full of challenges with rapidly changing variants. We must not let our guards down with the possible second and third waves looming. If we can strictly abide by the pandemic prevention guidelines, the private and public sectors working together as one team is the surest way to overcome this crisis. I look forward to the future when we are free of the pandemic.”
“Facing the global threats and challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic, TSMC has been devoting its knowledge and resources to work with the TSMC Charity Foundation, TSMC Education and Culture Foundation, and our overseas subsidiaries since 2020 to support the worldwide anti-pandemic effort,” said TSMC Chairman Dr. Mark Liu. “As Taiwan is now facing severe impact from COVID-19, TSMC is continuing to take tangible action to fulfill its corporate social responsibility by donating vaccine. We believe that we shall all emerge stronger by overcoming the challenges of the pandemic."
Young Liu, the chairman of Hon Hai Technology Group, stated: “What Taiwan society needs the most at this moment is vaccine resources. We entrusted Terry Gou, Founder of Hon Hai with full authority to actively negotiate vaccine-related matters through YongLin Foundation, to provide the vaccines to Taiwan's medical and pandemic prevention system, and fulfill our social responsibilities. To build a complete pandemic prevention network in Taiwan, commercial corporations and private sectors cannot stand alone, and we must join hands with the pandemic prevention system of the whole society. Each community and family can then be protected and together we can weather the storm.”
