Whether it’s helping disadvantaged kids in remote areas get an education, tending to their organic vegetable crops, or fighting China in its endless campaign to suppress Taiwan on the international stage, nothing is too much of a challenge for Frenchman Phillipe Vasse and his Taiwanese wife Heather Lin (林秋珍).
Vasse, who became acquainted with the country in the 1990s through his cultural and educational exchange work with Taiwan’s representative office in his native Paris, moved here in 2005 and got married last year.
The couple’s desire for a more natural life combined with concerns about the “looming world food crisis” saw Vasse, who had a deep-seated passion for nature and farming from his youth in France, and Heather, who knew about organic farming from her job with the US State of Indiana trade office, decide to give up city life and buy some farmland.
The couple’s passion for fresh, chemical-free produce led them to make friends with many people active in Taiwan’s organic farming movement, who shared a common interest — a desire to join the world’s top organic body (IFOAM, The International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements). That quest in turn led to the Association of Taiwan Organic Agriculture Promotion (ATOAP), an umbrella group for the domestic organic movement that they joined, which helped them realize their IFOAM dream.
As international cooperation director and executive director of ATOAP respectively, Vasse and Lin said they soon found themselves involved in a battle with a larger, more formidable pest than most organic farmers are used to — China.
Phillipe said the trouble began early this year when, under pressure from Beijing, Taiwan’s designation on the IFOAM Web site was suddenly changed to “Chinese Taipei.”
The move enraged members, who were astounded that Taiwan’s political troubles could seep into the world of organic food. The organization fought back and under the threat of a lawsuit, IFOAM eventually reneged, reinstating “Taiwan,” they said.
But the battle was not yet won, as it became apparent to Vasse and Lin and the rest of the Taiwanese delegation to the 16th IFOAM Organic World Congress, which was held in Modena, Italy, in June, that China was out to kill Taiwan’s bid to host the 17th congress in 2011.
Thankfully those pushing the Chinese agenda were ousted during the congress’ elections, and despite losing out to South Korea in the bid to host the congress, Taiwan was able to have its flag displayed at the opening ceremony, an outcome that had even the Ministry of Foreign Affairs congratulating the group, Vasse said.
Despite such troubles, Vasse and Lin said they remain undeterred in their battle to push organic produce. But this task — despite the nation’s legions of wealthy, health-conscious consumers — is not as easy as one would think, the couple said, as the organic farming movement is fragmented and very localized, with a lack of consumer confidence in the four existing domestic certification schemes.
Another problem the group faces is tackling the vested interests of Taiwan’s all-powerful farmers associations, as association chiefs are usually the ones who supply farmers with pesticides. This, combined with an aging population of farmers who lack business and marketing skills, makes most reluctant to leave their comfort zone and go green, they said.
But Vasse and Lin persist, and in less than a year since it was formed, ATOAP now has around 400 members, so although progress remains slow, the future looks promising.
Away from the farm, Vasse and Lin keep themselves busy with voluntary work at the Youth Care Foundation (普仁青年關懷基金會), a charity dedicated to helping children from disadvantaged families get a better education.
Youth Care, established by a group of university students in 1982, works with schools and teachers to identify children whose domestic circumstances are affecting their studies, Lin said.
Contributors to the foundation “adopt” these children, donating NT$1,500 (junior high school) or NT$2,500 (high school) per month to help them with education expenses, which are surprisingly high even in rural areas.
The money is paid into each child’s bank account (teachers keep the account chops after a few bad experiences where parents stole the money for alcohol) and the children can withdraw cash whenever they need it. The children then have to write reports charting their progress, which their financial guardians can access via the foundation’s Web site.
The foundation also has a facilitation program designed to help kids with talent in areas other than academia, Vasse said, such as music, crafts or sport. In July 2006 one school, Hong Jen Junior High School in Nantou County, received a grant that enabled it to take part in and win an international tug-of-war tournament in Japan, for which the participating students received a sports college scholarship.
The couple admits that visiting some of the almost 1,000 children who benefit from the scheme brings home the “shocking” reality of life for many poor families in Taiwan and “makes one despair that things can be so bad in a rich country,” but with determined people like Vasse and Lin working on their behalf, the future for these kids looks just a little bit brighter.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique