Directorate General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics figures show that Taiwanese donate up to NT$42.7 billion (US$1.3 billion) to charity every year. But do the 5.35 million people who donate to charities know if their money is really going to those in need?
United Way said it collected NT$374 million in donations last year, which it used to subsidize 389 organizations and 494 projects throughout the nation. All, it said, must apply for funding. United Way immediately recoups money from any group discovered to be using money for private purposes and then bars the group from applying again for two years.
United Way said that for every NT$100 it receives, NT$11 to NT$13 is deducted for administrative expenses, approximately NT$85 goes to charities or individuals in need and another NT$2 is held in a special budget for emergency disaster relief.
United Way's figures showed that 39 percent of donors want to know how the recipients used their money, 27 percent request receipts and 11 percent want the organizations to publicly release the amount of money they receive.
Many groups, however, have no transparent system to account for how they manage the money they receive. Moreover, a lack of human resources in government has made it difficult to enforce regulations on transparency.
Chen Chieh-ju (
In light of this, more than 40 different groups were planning to imitate efforts in Hong Kong and Japan and form a "Taiwan Social Welfare Alliance" to press the government to distribute its welfare budget more equitably, push through new legislation and integrate resources, he said.
The Executive Yuan yesterday approved a southwestern extension of the Sanying MRT Line from New Taipei to Bade District (八德) in Taoyuan, with a goal of starting construction by late 2026. The 4.03-kilometer extension, featuring three new stations, will run from the current terminus at Yingtao Fude Station (LB12) in New Taipei City to Dannan Station (LB14), where it will connect with Taoyuan’s Green Line, New Taipei City Metro Corp said in a statement. This extension will follow the completion of core Sanying Line, a 14.29-kilometer medium-capacity system linking Tucheng (土城), Sansia (三峽)
CARGO LOSS: About 50 containers at the stern of the ‘Ever Lunar’ cargo ship went overboard, prompting the temporary closure of the port and disrupting operations Evergreen Marine Corp, Taiwan’s largest container shipper, yesterday said that all crew members aboard the Ever Lunar (長月) were safe after dozens of containers fell overboard off the coast of Peru the previous day. The incident occurred at 9:40am on Friday as the Ever Lunar was anchored and waiting to enter the Port of Callao when it suddenly experienced severe rolling, Evergreen said in a statement. The rolling, which caused the containers to fall, might have been caused by factors including a tsunami triggered by an earthquake in Russia, poor winter sea conditions in South America or a sudden influx of waves,
The Ministry of Culture yesterday officially launched the “We TAIWAN” cultural program on Osaka’s Nakanoshima sandbank, with the program’s mascot receiving overwhelming popularity. The cultural program, which runs from Aug. 2 to 20, was designed to partner with and capitalize on the 2025 World Expo that is being held in Osaka, Japan, from April 13 to Oct. 13, the ministry said. On the first day of the cultural program, its mascot, a green creature named “a-We,” proved to be extremely popular, as its merch was immediately in high demand. Long lines formed yesterday for the opening
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
RSS