In 1964, when the World Bank issued a recruitment advertisement in the US drawing about 3,000 applicants, then 28-year-old Taiwanese attorney Loh Ping-cheung (
Starting as an attorney for the World Bank, Loh climbed the corporate ladder to fill positions like assistant director of the bank's east and southern African projects department, as well as country director for various nations in Central and South America.
His last post with the World Bank before retiring in 1996 was as senior advisor to the regional vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.
In fact, it is Loh's decades-long expertise in foreign aid that lured the foreign ministry in 1996 to invite him to work as the secretary general of the newly founded International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), Taiwan's principal body overseeing foreign aid under the supervision of the foreign ministry.
But when the 65-year-old resigned on June 19, a year before the end of his second three-year term, many looked upon his departure with sadness.
"We feel a bit upset. The departure of such a wonderful man is a loss not only to the ICDF but also to our country," said Lee Pai-po (
Seen by some insiders as Taiwan's top expert on foreign aid, Loh has impressed his ICDF colleagues with his ability to grasp the essence of issues, his good connections with international institutions and his command of foreign languages.
When Loh came on board, he was able to quickly grasp the essence of some 30 to 40 years of operations by Taiwan's overseas technical missions, Lee said.
"While it may take one year for others to understand these operations, it took him only three to five days ... He was able to see the strengths and weaknesses of these operations and offered ways of improvement. If it wasn't for his accumulated experience, he would not have been able to do so," Lee said.
Loh became a US resident 30 years ago. He began to learn Spanish at the age of 50 and is close to mastering both English and Spanish fluently, according to sources close to him. In addition to these skills Loh also had excellent connections with various international institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. These connections were built up during his work experience with the World Bank.
"Some participants in various international conferences may ignore the Taiwanese representative because Taiwan is not a member of the UN. But others treated Loh as their equal ... He's indeed an individual of rare caliber in Taiwan," Lee added.
Despite his widely-recognized performance in leading the ICDF, some criticized Loh's personality, saying that he is stubborn and confrontational.
"I rather admire this man because he's scrupulous and methodical in doing his work. But sometimes he's overly persistent in his opinions and was too ferocious when criticizing others," a Taiwanese diplomat currently posted in an Eastern European country told the Taipei Times under condition of anonymity.
"He's rather unbending and stubborn. But you know, as far as the trade of diplomacy is concerned, sometimes one should know when to advance and when to retreat," the veteran diplomat added.
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