News Snapshot:
After months without cases, initial response was a ‘disaster’, island’s former health minister tells Al Jazeera. Japan quietly shifts its stance on Taiwan amid growing concerns over Beijing’s economic and military might. Tokyo, Japan – The Japanese government has injected itself into the increasingly tense confrontation in the Taiwan Straits. Last Friday, Japan [sent Taiwan 1.24 million doses](/news/2021/6/2/japan-to-donate-additional-800m-to-whos-covax-body-report) of AstraZeneca’s COVID-19 jab, after Taiwan’s President Tsai Ing-wen accused China of blocking the territory’s access to vaccines amid its worst coronavirus outbreak since the pandemic began. Beijing regards Taiwan – a self-governing island that lies 161km (100 miles) off the Chinese...
