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Myanmar protesters hope 'broken down' cars can stymie a crackdown CNA
TAIPEI: A deal for Taiwan to buy 5 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine developed by Germany's BioNTech is on hold, the island's health minister said on Wednesday (Feb 17), citing potential Chinese pressure for the delay.
Taiwan Health Minister Chen Shih-chung said officials were on the verge of announcing the deal in December when BioNTech pulled the plug.
While he did not directly say China was to blame, Chen implied there was a political dimension to the decision and that he had been worried about "outside forces intervening", hence his caution in discussing the planned deal publicly.
"Certain people don't want Taiwan to be too happy," he added, without elaborating, in a radio interview.
China, which claims Taiwan as its own territory, has repeatedly sparred with the island over the coronavirus pandemic.
Taiwan has been angered by China's assertion only it can speak for the island on the international stage about the subject, while Taiwan has accused China of lack of transparency.
BioNTech signed a deal with Chinese firm Shanghai Fosun Pharmaceutical Group to exclusively develop and commercialise COVID-19 vaccine products developed by using BioNTech's mRNA technology in mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.
In return it agreed to pay up to US$85 million in licensing fees and invest US$50 million for a stake in the German firm.
BioNTech's development and distribution partner for the rest of the world is US firm Pfizer.
Chen said BioNTech had not asked them to speak to Fosun, and the deal with BioNTech had not been "torn up", only that it was "pending".
BioNTech and Fosun did not immediately respond to a request for comment. China's Taiwan Affairs Office declined immediate comment. China is currently observing the week-long Chinese New Year holiday.
Taiwan announced late in December said it had agreed to buy almost 20 million doses of COVID-19 vaccine, including 10 million from UK drugmaker AstraZeneca, with the rest coming from the COVAX global vaccine programme and an unnamed company.
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YANGON: Opponents of Myanmar's military coup called for more big protests on Wednesday (Feb 17) to show that the army's claim of widespread public support for overthrowing elected leader Aung San Suu Kyi and holding new elections was false.
They voiced scepticism at the junta's promise at a news conference on Tuesday that there would be a fair election and it would hand over power, even as police filed an additional charge against Aung San Suu Kyi.
The Nobel Peace laureate, detained since the Feb 1 coup, now faces a charge of violating a Natural Disaster Management Law as well as charges of illegally importing six walkie talkie radios.
At a hearing by video conference on Tuesday, her next hearing was set for Mar 1.
"Let’s gather in millions to take down the dictators," wrote activist Khin Sandar on Facebook.
Kyi Toe, a senior member of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy (NLD) party who has not yet been arrested, said: "Let's march en masse. Let's show our force against the coup government that has destroyed the future of youth, the future of our country."
The coup that cut short the Southeast Asian country's unsteady transition towards democracy has prompted daily demonstrations since Feb 6, some drawing hundreds of thousands of people.
The army takeover has also drawn strong Western criticism, with renewed anger from Washington and London over the additional charge for Aung San Suu Kyi. Although China has taken a softer line, its ambassador in Myanmar on Tuesday dismissed accusations it supported the coup.
Hundreds of people have been rounded up by the army since the coup, many of them in night time raids. Those arrested include much of the NLD's senior leadership.
Myanmar's Assistance Association for Political Prisoners said more than 450 arrests had been made since the coup on Tuesday. A third night of Internet blackout meant no news emerge of any arrests early on Wednesday.
The army seized power alleging fraud in a Nov 8 election - an accusation rejected by the electoral commission. The military said its declaration of a state of emergency was in line with the constitution that paved the way for democratic reforms.
"Our objective is to hold an election and hand power to the winning party," Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun, spokesman for the ruling council, told the junta's first news conference since overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi's government. He gave no time frame, but said the army would not be in power for long.
The last stretch of army rule lasted nearly half a century before democratic reforms in 2011.
BACK UNDER HOUSE ARREST
Aung San Suu Kyi, 75, spent nearly 15 years under house arrest for her efforts to end military rule.
Ruling council spokesman Zaw Min Tun dismissed the suggestion she and ousted President Win Myint were in detention, saying they were in their homes for their security while the law took its course. The president also faces charges under the natural disaster law.
The United States was "disturbed" by reports of the additional criminal charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, State Department spokesman Ned Price said. Washington imposed new sanctions last week on the Myanmar military. No additional measures were announced on Tuesday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also decried the new criminal charge, saying it was "fabricated" by the military.
As well as the demonstrations in towns across the ethnically diverse country, a civil disobedience movement has brought strikes that are crippling many functions of government.
The unrest has revived memories of bloody suppression of protests under previous juntas.
Police have opened fire several times, mostly with rubber bullets, to disperse protesters. A protester who was shot in the head in Naypyitaw last week is not expected to survive.
Six people were wounded in the central town of Maungmya on Tuesday when police fired rubber bullets to break up a protest over an arrested teacher, a witness said. An army statement said protesters had thrown stones at police, injuring some officers.
Zaw Min Tun said a policeman had died of injuries sustained during a protest in Mandalay on Monday.
He said the protesters were starting violence while the campaign of civil disobedience amounted to the illegal intimidation of civil servants.
SEOUL: North Korean leader Kim Jong Un's wife, Ri Sol Ju, appeared in state media for the first time in more than a year on Wednesday (Feb 17), joining her husband at a concert on one of the country's biggest holidays.
The official ruling Worker's Party newspaper Rodong Sinmun released photos of the pair at the event to mark the birthday of Kim's late father and former leader Kim Jong Il.
Ri had often accompanied Kim to major public events, but had not been seen since January last year at an event for the Lunar New Year holiday, stoking speculation over her health and potential pregnancy.
South Korea's National Intelligence Service (NIS) told lawmakers on Tuesday that Ri appeared to have refrained from outside activities to head off coronavirus infections but was "playing well with their kids".
The NIS believes Ri and Kim have three children. Little is publicly known about the trio.
North Korea has not confirmed any COVID-19 cases, but the NIS has said an outbreak could not be ruled out as the country had active exchanges with China, where the virus first emerged, before closing the border early last year.
Ri and Kim smiled as they watched the concert at Mansudae Art Theatre in the capital of Pyongyang. Unlike several previous events, nobody in the photographs published by Rodong Sinmun was wearing a mask or maintaining social distancing measures.
The newspaper also reported that Kim visited the Kumsusan Palace of the Sun, which houses the embalmed bodies of his father and grandfather, to lay wreaths for the anniversary, called the Day of the Shining Star.
YANGON: The UN special envoy on Myanmar has warned of the potential for an escalation of violence in the country on Wednesday (Feb 17), as anti-coup protesters are expected to face off once again with the military.
The warning comes after deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi was slapped with a second charge on Tuesday - and the UN rapporteur hinted she may have even secretly been put on trial.
Myanmar was plunged into an Internet blackout for the third night running, Britain-based monitoring group NetBlocks said, as the generals try to wear down the anti-coup uprising.
In the two weeks since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and put her under house arrest in the administrative capital Naypyidaw, big cities and isolated village communities alike have been in open revolt.
But Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur for Myanmar, said he was worried the situation was spiralling out of control.
"I fear that Wednesday has the potential for violence on a greater scale in Myanmar than we have seen since the illegal takeover of the government on February 1," Andrews said in a statement.
He said he had "received reports of soldiers being transported into at least Yangon from outlying regions".
"In the past, such troop movements preceded killings, disappearances, and detentions on a mass scale," he said.
"I am terrified that given the confluence of these two developments - planned mass protests and troops converging - we could be on the precipice of the military committing even greater crimes against the people of Myanmar."
NEW CHARGE
The military justified its power seizure by alleging widespread voter fraud in November elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party.
After her detention in a dawn raid on Feb 1 - the day of the coup - Aung San Suu Kyi was charged under an obscure import and export law, over walkie talkies that were found in her home.
The Nobel laureate's lawyer told AFP on Tuesday she had been hit with a second charge, of violating the country's disaster management law.
"She was charged under section 8 of the Export and Import law and section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management law as well," Khin Maung Zaw told AFP.
While it was unclear how the disaster law applied in Aung San Suu Kyi's case, it has been used against deposed president Win Myint - also arrested on Feb 1 - relating to a campaign event that the military government alleges broke coronavirus-related restrictions.
Khin Maung Zaw added that Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, both of whom he has yet to have any contact with, were expected to appear via video conference during a Mar 1 trial.
But Andrews said he had "word that a secretive trial" of Aung San Suu Kyi and deposed president Win Myint had begun this week, without offering more details.
Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said on Tuesday that both Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint were in a "safer place" and "in good health".
"It's not like they were arrested - they are staying at their houses," the general, who became the country's vice-minister of information after the coup, told a press conference.
The United States and Britain condemned the new charge against Aung San Suu Kyi, and renewed demands for her release.
More than 420 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a list of confirmed detentions from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
'THEY WANT TO DO BAD THINGS'
Security forces have used increasingly heavy measures to quell huge nationwide street protests and a disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to strike.
Troops have fanned out around the country in recent days.
Rubber bullets, tear gas and even sling shots have been used against protesters.
"They shut down the internet because they want to do bad things," Win Tun, a 44-year-old who lives in the commercial capital Yangon, said Tuesday.
Undeterred, crowds returned to the streets of Yangon and around the country on Tuesday.
"I want more people to join the protests, we don't want to be seen as weak," said university student Thwe Ei Sann.
A large crowd blocked railway tracks outside Mawlamyine to prevent a Yangon-bound train from leaving the port city.
Many of the country's train drivers have joined the anti-coup work boycotts, frustrating junta efforts to restart the national railway network after a COVID-19 shutdown.
'NOT WHAT CHINA WANTS TO SEE'
The United States and Britain were not alone in their condemnation of the leaders of Myanmar's new military administration, which insists it took power lawfully.
The Chinese ambassador to Myanmar said Tuesday that "the current development in Myanmar is absolutely not what China wants to see".
So far, only Washington has announced targeted sanctions against the generals, calling on them to relinquish power.
Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said that "sanctions are expected", and that the regime would continue to "maintain friendly relations" with the international community.
YANGON: Myanmar's military on Wednesday (Feb 17) drew fresh international criticism by slapping a new charge on deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi, as the generals cut off the internet for a third straight night in a bid to grind down an anti-coup uprising.
In the two weeks since the military ousted Aung San Suu Kyi and put her under house arrest in the administrative capital Naypyidaw, big cities and isolated village communities alike have been in open revolt.
The military justified its power seizure by alleging widespread voter fraud in November elections won by Aung San Suu Kyi's party.
After her detention in a dawn raid on Feb 1 - the day of the coup - she was charged under an obscure import and export law, over walkie talkies that were found in her home during a search.
The Nobel laureate's lawyer told AFP Tuesday she had been hit with a second charge, of violating the country's disaster management law.
"She was charged under section 8 of the Export and Import law and section 25 of the Natural Disaster Management law as well," Khin Maung Zaw told AFP.
While it was unclear how the disaster law applied in Aung San Suu Kyi's case, it has been used against deposed president Win Myint - also arrested on Feb 1 - relating to a campaign event that the junta alleges broke coronavirus-related restrictions.
Khin Maung Zaw added that Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint, both of whom he has yet to have any contact with, were expected to appear via video conference during a Mar 1 trial.
The United States said it was "disturbed" by the news, and renewed demands for Aung San Suu Kyi's release.
"We call on the Burmese military to immediately release all unjustly detained civilian and political leaders, journalists and human rights activists and other members of civil society as well as to restore the democratically elected government," State Department spokesman Ned Price told reporters.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson also voiced his condemnation, calling the charges against Aung San Suu Kyi "fabricated" and a "clear violation of her human rights".
"We stand with the people of Myanmar and will ensure those responsible for this coup are held to account," he tweeted.
More than 420 people have been arrested since the coup, according to a list of confirmed detentions from the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners monitoring group.
Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said Tuesday that both Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint were in a "safer place" and "in good health".
"It's not like they were arrested - they are staying at their houses," the general, who became the country's vice-minister of information after the coup, told a press conference.
'THEY WANT TO DO BAD THINGS'
Security forces have used increasingly heavy measures to quell huge nationwide street protests and a disobedience campaign encouraging civil servants to strike.
Troops have fanned out around the country in recent days.
Rubber bullets, tear gas and even sling shots have been used against protesters, and one demonstration in Mandalay on Monday saw police beating journalists hours before authorities again cut internet access.
"They shut down the internet because they want to do bad things," Win Tun, a 44-year-old who lives in the commercial capital Yangon, said Tuesday.
"We didn't sleep the whole night so we could see what would happen."
Undeterred, crowds returned to the streets of Yangon and around the country on Tuesday.
"I want more people to join the protests, we don't want to be seen as weak," said university student Thwe Ei Sann.
A large crowd blocked railway tracks outside Mawlamyine to prevent a Yangon-bound train from leaving the port city.
Many of the country's train drivers have joined the anti-coup work boycotts, frustrating junta efforts to restart the national railway network after a COVID-19 shutdown.
Early Wednesday, Britain-based monitoring group NetBlocks confirmed that Myanmar was once again experiencing a "near-total internet shutdown".
'NOT WHAT CHINA WANTS TO SEE'
The United States and Britain were not alone in their condemnation of the leaders of Myanmar's new military administration, which insists it took power lawfully.
The Chinese ambassador to Myanmar said on Tuesday that "the current development in Myanmar is absolutely not what China wants to see".
He added that Beijing had good relations with Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy party.
So far, only Washington has announced targeted sanctions against the generals, calling on them to relinquish power.
Military spokesman Zaw Min Tun said that "sanctions are expected", and that the regime would continue to "maintain friendly relations" with the international community.
UN envoy Christine Schraner Burgener spoke to junta number two Soe Win on Monday and warned him that the regime's network blackouts "undermine core democratic principles", according to a spokesman.
The Israeli Cabinet has approved a further loosening of the restrictions on economic activity as coronavirus infection rates continue its gradual downward trend.
From Sunday, shopping malls, markets, museums, and libraries will re-open to everyone. But Israelis will need to show proof they have been vaccinated, or have recovered from the disease, to gain access to gyms, sports, cultural venues and hotels, all of which have also received permission to re-open.
Schools will also be allowed to welcome back more students.
The number of new cases of Covid-19 stood at 5,138 on Monday -- by comparison, the figure two weeks ago stood at 8,909.
Israel has been making rapid progress in its vaccination program and is on track to be the first country in the world to inoculate its entire population, of about 9 million people.
Health Ministry data suggests more than 4 million people in Israel will have received their first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine by the end of Tuesday, with more than 2.6 million people having received a second dose as well.
