China yesterday said that the US had “fabricated” allegations it carried out a massive Microsoft hack, countering that Washington was the “world champion” of cyberattacks, while raging at the US’ allies for signing up to a rare joint statement of condemnation. The US on Monday accused Beijing of carrying out a March cyberattack on Microsoft Exchange, a top e-mail server for corporations around the world, and charged four Chinese over the “malicious” hack. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the attack was part of a pattern of irresponsible, disruptive and destabilizing behavior in cyberspace. Photo: AFP The Chinese Ministry of State Security has fostered an ecosystem of criminal contract hackers who carry out both state-sponsored activities and cybercrime for their own financial gain, Blinken said in a statement. In a simultaneous announcement, the US Department of Justice said that four Chinese had been charged with hacking the computers of dozens of companies, universities and government bodies in the US and abroad between 2011 and 2018. US President Joe Biden told reporters that Washington was still completing an investigation before taking any countermeasures, and drew parallels with the murky, but prolific cybercrimes attributed by Western officials to Russia. “The Chinese government, not unlike the Russian government, is not doing this themselves, but are protecting those who are doing it, and maybe even accommodating them being able to do it,” Biden told reporters. In an effort to put the diplomatic squeeze on Beijing, the US coordinated its statement with its allies — the EU, the UK, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Japan and NATO. China hit back, calling the allegations of a Beijing-supported cyberattack campaign “fabricated.” “The US has mustered its allies to carry out unreasonable criticisms against China on the issue of cybersecurity,” Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Zhao Lijian (趙立堅) told reporters in Beijing. “This move is fabricated out of nothing.” Earlier, China’s diplomatic missions around the world rattled out rebuttals, as Beijing made its own coordinated defense. The Chinese embassy in New Zealand called the allegations “totally groundless and irresponsible,” while the embassy in Australia accused Canberra of “parroting the rhetoric of the US.” Biden has ramped up pressure on China, seeing the rising Asian power’s increasingly assertive moves at home and abroad as the main long-term threat to the US. Allies backed up the castigation of China, with British Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs Dominic Raab describing the cyberattack as “reckless.” NATO offered “solidarity” over the Microsoft hacking without directly assigning blame. US Department of State spokesman Ned Price said it was the first time that NATO has condemned cyberactivity from China. “We know we’ll be stronger, we know we’ll be more effective when we act collectively,” Price said, adding that the US was not ruling out further action. The Microsoft hack, which exploited flaws in the Microsoft Exchange service, affected at least 30,000 US organizations, including local governments, as well as organizations worldwide. ‘OUR BUSINESS’: DPP Legislator Wang Ting-yu confirmed the aircraft’s stopover, saying that its significance lay in the fact that it took place A US military transport plane made a brief stopover yesterday morning in Taipei, drawing media attention and no comment from the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) or the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A C-146A Wolfhound touched down at Taipei International Airport (Songshan airport) at 9:32am after flying from Kadena Air Force Base in Okinawa, Japan, Television Broadcasts Satellite (TVBS) reported. Apart from regular landing procedures handled by the airport, the air force said that it had no contact with the aircraft. It was reportedly carrying a package for newly installed AIT Director Sandra Oudkirk, who is undergoing a 14-day quarantine after arriving in STABLE TREND: Community spread is still occurring in Taipei and New Taipei City, so it could be difficult to return to zero new infections, the health minister said The Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday reported 15 locally transmitted COVID-19 infections, three imported cases and four deaths. Six of the local cases tested positive during isolation or upon ending isolation, said Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center. The local infections were all reported in northern Taiwan. New Taipei City led the case count with seven infections, followed by Taipei with five cases and Taoyuan with three, he said. The infection sources of nine cases have been identified and six remain unclear, CECC data showed. Asked if a nationwide level 3 COVID-19 alert could be lowered after MEDIGEN: The vaccine must also be reviewed by the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices before it is added to the national vaccination program An emergency use authorization (EUA) for Medigen Vaccine Biologics Corp’s (高端疫苗) COVID-19 vaccine — MVC-COV1901 — for people aged 20 and older was issued by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) yesterday. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中) said a specialists’ meeting was held at the FDA on Sunday to review Medigen’s application to manufacture and distribute its COVID-19 vaccine, and the panel approved it. FDA Director Wu Hsiu-mei (吳秀梅) said the meeting consisted of 21 specialists from the fields of chemistry, manufacturing and controls, pharmacy, toxicology, clinical medicine, public health, law and medical ethics. There were no major concerns over ‘VERY GRATEFUL’: Central Epidemic Command Center officials greeted a Japan Airlines flight with signs thanking Japan for its latest vaccine donation Taiwan yesterday received three shipments of COVID-19 vaccines, a total of 1.88 million doses. The nation has so far received 8.92 million doses of the AstraZeneca and Moderna vaccines. First to arrive was a donation from Japan. A Japan Airlines Co flight arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at about 1:45pm with 970,000 doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine on board. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC), and center officials Wang Pi-sheng (王必勝) and Chou Jih-haw (周志浩) greeted the flight holding signs thanking the Japanese government for its latest donation. Japan has donated a total

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