TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Saturday (Aug. 27) rejected allegations that U.S. vaccine donations to Taiwan were only made possible because of lobbying by Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world's most advanced chipmaker.

An online rumor suggested that U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo told media that TSMC had requested COVID-19 vaccine aid from Washington, citing a Reuters report last June. The allegation referred to the 2.5 million Moderna doses that the U.S. pledged to Taiwan when the country struggled to secure protective gear.

MOFA deputy spokesperson Tsuei Ching-lin (崔靜麟) dismissed the rumor, saying it “viciously distorted facts and belittled the effort of the Taiwanese government.” MOFA condemned the claim as “sinister, 100% fake news,” CNA quoted him as saying.

Tsuei stressed that Raimondo has never linked the donation to TSMC and that the chipmaker was involved in the bid to acquire Pfizer-BioNTech doses instead of Moderna. The then White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki had already denied suggestions that Taiwan was “trading chips for vaccine doses,” he added.

MOFA denounces any attempts to smear the support by the allies of Taiwan and urges the public not to fall into misleading claims as part of ongoing disinformation warfare waged by foreign hostile forces, he said.