The Netherlands’ envoy to Taiwan, Menno Goedhart, yesterday said that he and his wife have decided to make Taiwan their home after he retires.
At the launch of his book The Real Taiwan and the Dutch at Fort Provintia in Tainan, Goedhart said he and his wife would resettle in Tainan County’s Sinhua Township (新化) when his tenure as the Netherlands’ top envoy to Taiwan ends later this year.
TRACING THE PAST
Over the past eight years, Goedhart has visited almost every corner of Taiwan to trace the footprints of his ancestors who ruled Taiwan between 1524 and 1662.
During that period, some citizens of Holland married local Aborigines, mostly from the Rukai tribe.
Goedhart, who has built a close friendship with the Rukai people, has been given the title of “elder” by the tribe in Sandimen Township (三地門), Pingtung County.
He is one of two foreigners on whom the Rukai have bestowed the title, the first being a Dutchman who was given the honor in the early 20th century.
SCENIC AREAS
Goedhart’s book, published in Chinese and English, features many scenic areas of Taiwan, including sights in Hualien and Taitung counties, the cities and counties of Tainan and Chiayi and the offshore Penghu County.
The book also focuses on the Aboriginal tribes around the country.
PROCEEDS
Goedhart said all proceeds from the book would be donated to the victims of Typhoon Morakot, which devastated parts of eastern and southern Taiwan in August last year.
At the book launch yesterday, Tainan Mayor Hsu Tain-tsair (許添財) dubbed Goedhart “the Marco Polo of Taiwan,” citing the envoy’s ambitious plan to sell Taiwan to the rest of the world.
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