Thursday, May 13, 2021 | The Japan Times | 5 asia

Pressure mounts on Moon to secure shots S. Korea vaccine woes overshadow Biden summit

HYONHEE SHIN according to the Korea Disease Control and SEOUL Prevention Agency (KDCA). REUTERS A Reuters tally of global vaccination rates shows that’s a percentage similar to coun- South Korea’s struggle to boost coronavi- tries such as Nepal and Colombia. rus vaccine supplies is threatening to over- On paper, South Korea has bought enough shadow President Moon Jae-in’s first summit doses to vaccinate all 52 million residents with U.S. President Joe Biden, with pressure twice over. Above left: Schoolchildren visit the Yangjialing Revolutionary Site in Yan’an, China, on Saturday. Above right: A woman adjusts a portrait of Chinese President Xi Jinping between two pictures of mounting on Moon to secure more and But supply issues have raised fears those former leader Mao Zedong at the Dongfanghong Theater in Yan’an on Saturday. AFP-JIJI faster deliveries of U.S.-made shots. doses may not arrive fast enough, prompt- Moon had hoped to use the Washington ing Seoul to ask Washington to provide some meeting next week as a chance to highlight doses as part of a “swap” for faster access to South Korea’s relatively successful response U.S.-made shots in return for domestically In China’s ‘Red Holy Land,’ tourists mark party centenary to the pandemic, a key legacy in his final year producing more doses later. in office. Lee Ho-seung, Moon’s chief policy secretary, YAN’AN, CHINA of tourists flock each day to the dark caves ernment-organized tours of sites, including jing on the same day, state media reported. But uncertainties in the country’s vaccine told a local radio station on Wednesday that AFP-JIJI which Mao Zedong and his comrades made Yan’an and Jinggangshan — the “birthplace” The Communist Party of China has more rollout amid global shortages and shipment securing a “vaccine partnership” with Wash- home. of the Red Army — where local officials are than 91 million members, according to the delays are deepening public skepticism over ington would be a top priority for the summit. Tourists pose for photos on Chairman Mao Tourists come in large family groups or on keen to show off infrastructure and poverty official Xinhua News Agency — many of Seoul’s goal of reaching herd immunity by He said the United States has original Zedong’s bed as the Chinese Communist tours arranged by their employers, includ- alleviation efforts. them grassroots cadres and ordinary civil November. technology and raw materials, while South Party — much-criticized overseas — marks ing one group from Hunan who unveiled a Officials in Yan’an repeatedly cited Edgar servants. That has sparked calls for a deal to get Korea has the world’s No. 2 biotech produc- its centenary year at home with a PR push banner in Chinese made for the centenary, Snow, an American reporter known for his That makes it the world’s second-largest faster access to vaccines from the United tion capacity and the two combined could including office history outings, big-budget declaring their employment at a property friendship with Mao in the 1930s, as a model political party, behind India’s Bharatiya States and potentially sidelined other impor- turn South Korea into a “global vaccine pro- movies and carefully constructed media management company. for telling China’s story to the world, urging Janata Party. tant issues for Moon and Biden such as duction hub.” tours. Zhang Zhenxing, a tech employee from today’s foreign correspondents to follow his Beijing points to China’s rapid economic North Korea policy or relations with China So far the United States hasn’t been keen The ruling party, which celebrates the Hebei on a company-organized trip, said he example. growth in recent decades and rising living and Japan. to play ball, South Korea’s foreign minister 100th year of its founding in Shanghai this wanted to “experience how the revolution- Chinese President Xi Jinping, who is also standards as evidence of the party’s endur- “Any first South Korea-U.S. summit would said last month, with officials in Washington July, has launched a propaganda blitz laud- ary forebears achieved victory in such a dif- the general-secretary of the Communist ing value. typically be an occasion to reaffirm the alli- citing a still difficult situation at home and a ing its achievements over the past century in ficult environment.” Party, has been on an image-making drive It is less keen, however, to draw atten- ance, coordinate North Korea policy and lack of doses to spare. nurturing a poor, divided nation eviscerated “That they could build a new China under that puts his power and influence on a level tion to the past century’s darker chapters, build personal rapport, but this time, its suc- Samsung BioLogics Co. said on Wednes- by war into a global superpower. such difficulty was really not an easy feat, so comparable with Mao’s. including famine, the Cultural Revolution, cess might be judged by what we get to ramp day a report it was in talks with Pfizer Inc. The pomp is undiluted by the criticism I admire them deeply,” Zhang said. But in the age of tech and mass entertain- and crackdowns on resistance movements. up vaccine supplies, and that’s not as simple to begin production of the U.S. drugmaker’s from the West, where politicians, experts At a downtown theater, the party faithful ment, his party has greater tools at its dis- Discussion of the bloody Tiananmen a deal as others say,” a South Korean official COVID-19 vaccine in South Korea as early as and business leaders warn of the party’s can pay nearly 400 yuan ($62.32) to watch posal to reinforce its narrative. Square crackdown in 1989 continues to be involved in preparations for Moon’s trip said. August was “not factual.” supersized ambitions and decry its human the commercially produced musical extrava- A blockbuster film, “1921,” starring A-list- censored on Chinese social media, while South Korea has quickly and effectively Opposition lawmakers have proposed a rights record. ganza “Yan’an, Yan’an” — a strobe-lit ode to ers in a reenactment of the Communist Par- China’s cyberspace authority last month administered the vaccines it has received so range of options for persuading the United In Yan’an, a western Chinese city that bills wartime martyrs featuring dancing Long ty’s founding, is set to hit Chinese theaters on urged internet users to report “harmful” far, but it got off to a slower start than the States to make a deal, including joining the itself as a “Red Holy Land” where the party Marchers and a pas de deux of revolution- July 1, the official anniversary date. comments showing “historical nihilism” — United States and elsewhere. “Quad” partnership of the United States, hunkered down in 1935 at the end of the ary lovers cut short by a Japanese air raid. “Outstanding” party members will receive narratives that go against the party’s official Just over 7% of its 52 million population Japan, India and Australia, which is work- Long March to build a revolution, thousands Foreign media have been invited on gov- a “July 1 Medal” at a grand ceremony in Bei- history. have received at least one dose as of Tuesday, ing collectively to boost vaccine production. Eid al-Fitr special ( Sponsored content )

International residents celebrate Eid al-Fitr together at Feasts and prayers mark end of Ramadan the Sakura Hotel & Cafe Hatagaya in After a month of prayer, fasting and other fectures, but Islamic houses of worship can well as prayer events. Due to the continuing without having to leave Japan, something Tokyo’s Shibuya spiritually orientated activities, Muslims be found in many parts of Japan from Hok- state of emergency, the mosque canceled that is even more valuable in this time of Ward. around the world commemorate the end kaido down to Okinawa. in-person Eid prayers this year. restricted international travel. Whether of Ramadan with the festival of Eid al-Fitr. As one of the most important religious With the virus situation continually witnessing prayers in a mosque or sampling The traditions and ceremonies of Eid holidays of the year, Muslims in Japan tra- evolving and each prefecture under differ- new delicacies at an Eid feast, it is a fascinat- vary as widely as the societies where Islam ditionally attend their local mosque for ent rules, individual mosques have planned ing way to witness how Japan’s Muslims is found. That said, the day usually involves Eid and other ceremonies to mark the end for Eid based on their local situation. This have built thriving communities here. morning prayers at a mosque, followed of Ramadan. This year, however, the pan- may not be the year for big celebrations, by a celebratory meal to mark the end of demic is making it difficult to hold large but it could provide opportunities for more Check https://tokyocamii.org/ for more the Ramadan practice of dawn-to-sunset gatherings. With the state of emergency intimate gatherings. details. Information on other mosques fasting. Family and friends gather at their extended and expanded to more prefec- Regardless of what is happening in the around Japan can be found at https://mus- homes for private celebrations, or larger tures, limitations on public gatherings world, a special meal is one of the hall- lim-guide.jp/mosque/. events may be held for the entire com- remain in place. One publication aimed at marks of Eid, being as it is the end of an munity. Charitable giving is often a part Muslims in Japan has urged adherents to extended period of strict fasting from dawn of Eid, and in some places a tradition of prepare for different contingencies in car- to dusk. Meals to break the fast are held in parents giving gifts of money to children is rying out the observances of Ramadan and the evening before the Eid prayers begin common. Eid. the next morning. Eid al-Fitr is sometimes Muslims in Japan will of course celebrate Tokyo Camii, a striking domed structure called the “sweet Eid” because of the preva- Eid Mubarak this important holiday as well, which falls with a 48-meter-high minaret located in lence of sugary dishes for the celebratory on Thursday this year. While the number Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, is the largest mosque meal in many areas. This is in contrast to In this extraordinary situation, of adherents here is not large, there are in Japan. It was originally built in 1938 and another Islamic holiday, Eid al-Adha, which nonetheless dozens of mosques around rebuilt in 2000. This year, Tokyo Camii is known as the “salty Eid.” may Allah the Almighty bestow upon us the country. Many of these are naturally organized an extensive program of online For non-Muslims, taking part in or concentrated in the large urban areas, par- events for the holy month, including live- observing the events of Eid can be a ticularly Tokyo and the surrounding pre- streamed recitations from the Quran as chance to experience a different culture a peaceful and uplifting occasion of Eid-ul-Fitr 1442 Hijriah

AMBASSADOR OF THE REPUBLIC OF INDONESIA TO JAPAN H.E. Heri Akhmadi

Left: Eid al-Fitr will feature a variety of local cuisine as Muslims around the world cel- ebrate. Right: In some areas, parents give money to children as part of traditional celebrations. GETTY IMAGES

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