A DPP legislator yesterday joined the Liberian ambassador to call for aid from non-governmental agencies in an attempt to help ease the battle-scarred African state's em-erging humanitarian crisis.
"We need tents because people are sleeping outside. We need sleeping bags, dehydrated foods and mosquito repellant," said Liberian Ambassador John Cummings in a press conference yesterday.
"The supply is dwindling," Cummings said, adding that a growing number of refugees are sleeping in a roofless football stadium in the Liberian capital of Monrovia.
PHOTO: CHIANG YING-YING, TAIPEI TIMES
DPP Legislator Lai Chin-lin (賴勁麟), who joined Cummings at the press conference, said the non-governmental sector should step up its efforts in offering humanitarian aid to Taiwan's diplomatic ally.
Reminding citizens of the timber Liberia shipped to Taiwan in an attempt to help rebuild homes in the wake of the 921 earthquake, Lai said it's time for Taiwanese to lend a hand to their Liberian counterparts.
At a time when the future political landscape of the war-stricken state is not yet clear, it would be unwise for the government to lead the aid project in fear of being thought of as siding with a particular party in the conflict, Lai said.
Cummings echoed Lai's view, saying: "In this particular case, the government has to be neutral."
The Rotary Club of Luchou (
Materials instead of financial donations are preferred, Lai said.
The ambassador said the materials would be channeled into the hands of Liberian refugees through a local branch of the Rotary Club in the name of the newly founded "Taiwan Liberia Emergency Relief Network."
Since Charles Taylor -- a former warlord -- became president of the country in 1997, Taiwan has remained a major source of help to the country and the people of Liberia have been grateful to Taiwan regardless of their factions and political orientations, Cummings said.
Donations can be made through the Liberian embassy. The contact number is (02) 28751212.
Greenpeace yesterday said that it is to appeal a decision last month by the Taipei High Administrative Court to dismiss its 2021 lawsuit against the Ministry of Economic Affairs over “loose” regulations governing major corporate electricity consumers. The climate-related lawsuit — the first of its kind in Taiwan — sought to require the government to enforce higher green energy thresholds on major corporations to reduce emissions in light of climate change and an uptick in extreme weather. The suit, filed by Greenpeace East Asia, the Environmental Jurists Association and four individual plaintiffs, was dismissed on May 8 following four years of litigation. The
A former officer in China’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA) who witnessed the aftermath of the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre has warned that Taiwan could face a similar fate if China attempts to unify the country by force. Li Xiaoming (李曉明), who was deployed to Beijing as a junior officer during the crackdown, said Taiwanese people should study the massacre carefully, because it offers a glimpse of what Beijing is willing to do to suppress dissent. “What happened in Tiananmen Square could happen in Taiwan too,” Li told CNA in a May 22 interview, ahead of the massacre’s 36th anniversary. “If Taiwanese students or
DIPLOMACY: It is Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo’s first visit to Taiwan since he took office last year, while Eswatini’s foreign minister is also paying a visit A delegation led by Guatemalan President Bernardo Arevalo arrived in Taiwan yesterday afternoon and is to visit President William Lai (賴清德) today. The delegation arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 4:55pm, and was greeted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). It is Arevalo’s first trip to Taiwan since he took office last year, and following the visit, he is to travel to Japan to celebrate the 90th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries. Arevalo said at the airport that he is very glad to make the visit to Taiwan, adding that he brings an important message of responsibility
About 3,000 people gathered at events in Taipei yesterday for an annual candlelight vigil commemorating the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre, a brutal crackdown by Chinese authorities on a student-led demonstration in Beijing on June 4 36 years ago. A candlelight vigil organized by the New School for Democracy and other human rights groups began at 7pm on Democracy Boulevard outside Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall, with the theme "Resist Transnational Repression, Defy Totalitarianism." At about 8pm, organizers announced that about 3,000 people had attended the event, which featured brief speeches by human rights advocates from Taiwan and China, including Hong Kong, as well