A single e-mail by a Malawi-based Taiwanese doctor has triggered a massive donation of medical books and journals, along with other English-language books, by Taiwan's local and foreign communities.
Within three months, more than 1,600 medical books and 1,320 medical journals were collected by the College of Medicine of the National Taiwan University (NTU), plus some 1,500 English-language books by the African Salvation Club of Taipei American School.
So, when the dean of the NTU medical college, Chen Ding-shinn (陳定信), symbolically passed on a box of medical books to Malawian Ambassador Eunice Kazembe yesterday morning during a donation ceremony, the ambassador was overjoyed. "I felt very excited," Kazembe told the Taipei Times.
"These books will not only help medical students in Malawi, but also the entire medical service in my country," Kazembe said.
Kazembe also lauded as creative the original idea, initiated by a young doctor by the name of Philip Lo (羅一鈞), a graduate of medicine from NTU who is currently serving at Malawi's Mzuzu Central Hospital.
Dean Chen's secretary said that when the dean learned through President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) visit to Malawi in July that Lo -- as an NTU graduate -- was serving in Malawi, he decided to e-mail Lo a note of encouragement.
"In his reply, Lo told the dean that the local medical school was short of books and asked the dean for help," Chen's secretary said.
Lo's e-mail triggered what he termed an "unexpected" response from the local and international Taiwanese communities.
"Over 100 individuals, eight groups inside as well as outside of the college, plus seven book suppliers in Taiwan donated generously," Lo said.
"Even Chris Yeh, the co-president of the African Salvation Club at Taipei American School, e-mailed me and consequently collected around 1,500 English-language books -- some fictional -- and also dictionaries," Lo told the Taipei Times.
The 25-year-old has chosen to fulfill his two-year compulsory military service as a doctor with Taiwan's medical mission in Malawi, rather than serving in Taiwan's military forces.
Lo said he noted the lack of medicine-related books at the medical college of the University of Malawi -- which is affiliated with the Queen Elizabeth Central Hospital -- when he accompanied President Chen to visit the library of the medical school in summer.
"Students there were compelled to borrow a book from the library and then had it circulated among themselves -- for one or two days per person," Lo said.
"But when I remembered the piles of deserted textbooks in the corner of the NTU hostels at the end or beginning of each semester, I just thought that perhaps these books, if collected, could be of use to medical students in Malawi," Lo said.
Lo admitted that his move to write the e-mail was inspired by his counterpart Lien Chia-en (
As a Christian, Lien has e-mailed to his Glory Star Church (榮星教會) earlier this year to ask for donations of used clothes. Some 60 boxes of clothes were collected.
Lien then arranged a campaign in the middle of the year for locals to submit three bags of trash in exchange for a piece of donated clothing, in an attempt to fight the serious littering in the African country, Liu said.
Typhoon Champi is forecast to turn northward earlier than previously expected, sparing Taiwan a direct hit but still bringing heavy rain to the north of the country on Friday and Saturday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Typhoon Champi had strengthened and increased in size over the past 12 hours, and as of yesterday afternoon, was packing sustained winds of 198kph near its center, CWA forecaster Cheng Chieh-jen (鄭傑仁) said. However, due to the weakening of a Pacific high-pressure system the storm is now expected to turn northward earlier than initially forecast, likely around Japan’s Ishigaki Island, Cheng said. As Champi brushes
A sea warning for Typhoon Champi might be issued tonight, while the storm’s trajectory would determine whether a land warning is to be issued tomorrow night, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. As of 2pm yesterday, Champi was about 1,536km east-southeast of Taiwan proper’s southernmost point, Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻), packing maximum sustained winds of 198kph, CWA forecaster Tseng Chao-cheng (曾昭誠) said. The storm was moving west-northwest at 23kph and was expected to strengthen over the next 24 hours before weakening slightly as it approaches cooler waters east of Taiwan, Tseng said. Champi is expected to turn north tomorrow, with the angle of the
DEFENSE PROCUREMENT: Taiwan could become the largest operator of V-BAT drones outside the US if the contract is finalized, the Ministry of National Defense said The navy and the coast guard reportedly plan to acquire 292 units of MQ-35A V-BAT vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) surveillance drones. If the contract is awarded and finalized, it would make Taiwan one of the largest buyers of the uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) developed by the US-based defense technology company Shield AI. The Coast Guard Administration budgeted NT$1.2 billion (US$37.1 million) to buy 12 drones, which have been delivered, Shield AI said in a report on Oct 13. The navy is planning to spend NT$36 billion under a four-year program code-named Project Yuan Hsiao (遠鴞) to acquire 280 V-BAT drones,
A patrol vessel donated by the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) to the Philippines would not be used in waters near Taiwan or areas where Taiwanese fishing vessels operate, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said yesterday. The vessel, formerly the CGA's 500-tonne-class Kinmen (金門), was commissioned into the Philippine Coast Guard on Oct. 2. Speaking at the Legislative Yuan, Cho said the Philippines had pledged during the donation process that the vessel would be used only for designated missions and would not operate in waters related to Taiwan. The vessel could even provide assistance to Taiwan if needed, he added. Responding to questions from Chinese
RSS