DPP's political manipulation over vaccines harms Taiwan people: spokesperson

BEIJING, June 21 (Xinhua) -- A Chinese mainland spokesperson said Monday that Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) authority is harming the lives and health of the Taiwan people by conducting its political manipulation over vaccines.

Ma Xiaoguang, a spokesperson for the Taiwan Affairs Office of the State Council, made the remarks when commenting on the United States recently providing COVID-19 vaccines to Taiwan.

As of Monday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases on the island has reached 14,080, with 569 deaths, said Ma. "We are very worried about the epidemic situation in Taiwan, and the health and safety of Taiwan compatriots."

Ma said that the mainland has repeatedly expressed its willingness to help Taiwan compatriots overcome the epidemic and to provide mainland-developed COVID-19 vaccines which have been approved by the World Health Organization (WHO) for emergency use.

But it is regrettable that the DPP authority, disregarding the lives and health of the Taiwan people and ignoring the mainland's good faith, has been politicizing the vaccines and continued its political manipulation, which leads to Taiwan compatriots having no access to safe, effective and sufficient vaccines from the mainland, said Ma.