The Taiwan Foundation for Demo-cracy (TFD) yesterday announced that the Rescue Foundation, an Indian anti-human trafficking organization, was the recipient of this year’s Asia Democracy and Human Rights Award.
Legislative Speaker Wang Jin-pyng (王金平), who doubles as chairman of the foundation, told a press conference in Taipei that the Rescue Foundation stood out from a list of five finalists recommended for the award for its dedication to helping young girls exploited by human traffickers or forced into prostitution in South Asia.
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) will present a US$100,000 grant to a representative of the foundation on Human Rights Day in Taipei tomorrow, Wang said.
The Rescue Foundation was established by Balkrishna Acahrya in Mumbai in 2000. The group rescues about 300 girls from India, Nepal and Bangladesh every year.
The foundation was recommended by Vaidehi (whose alias is Vibhuti Joshi), a 17-year-old victim of human trafficking and the Dutch children’s organization Stop Child Abuse, Wang said.
The Dutch organization said the Rescue Foundation successfully invested its resources in rescuing and comforting victims and provided them with an opportunity to return to a normal life.
Vaidehi said she was able to move beyond her memories of abuse with help from the foundation, Wang said.
A total of 25 individuals and organizations were nominated for the award in the TFD’s preliminary review and five entered the final list after being reviewed by a board composed of international human rights advocates, including Sima Samar, chairwoman of the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission and a former recipient of the award, and Kyoto Human Rights Research Institute director Nisuke Ando.
None of the recommended individuals or groups were Taiwanese, TFD chief executive Huang Teh-fu (黃德福) said during a question-and-answer session after the press conference.
Eight restaurants in Taiwan yesterday secured a one-star rating from the Michelin Guide Taiwan for the first time, while three one-star restaurants from last year’s edition were promoted to two stars. Forty-three restaurants were awarded one star this year, including 34 in Taipei, five in Taichung and four in Kaohsiung. Hosu (好嶼), Chuan Ya (川雅), Sushi Kajin (鮨嘉仁), aMaze (心宴), La Vie by Thomas Buhner, Yuan Yi (元一) and Frassi in Taipei and Front House (方蒔) in Kaohsiung received a one-star rating for the first time. Hosu is known for innovative Taiwanese dishes, while Chuan Ya serves Sichuan cuisine and aMaze specializes
Taitung County is to launch charter flights to Malaysia at the end of this year, after setting up flights to Vietnam and Thailand, the Taitung County Government said yesterday. The new charter flight services, provided by low-cost carrier Batik Air Malaysia, would be part of five-day tour packages for visits to Taitung County or Malaysia. The Batik Air charter flight, with about 200 seats, would take Malaysian tourists to Taitung on Dec. 30 and then at 12:35pm return to Kuala Lumpur with Taiwanese tourists. Another charter flight would bring the Taiwanese home on Jan. 3 next year, arriving at 5:30pm, before taking the
Taiwan High Speed Rail Corp. (THSRC) plans to ease strained capacity during peak hours by introducing new fare rules restricting passengers traveling without reserved seats in 2026, company Chairman Shih Che (史哲) said Wednesday. THSRC needs to tackle its capacity issue because there have been several occasions where passengers holding tickets with reserved seats did not make it onto their train in stations packed with individuals traveling without a reserved seat, Shih told reporters in a joint interview in Taipei. Non-reserved seats allow travelers maximum flexibility, but it has led to issues relating to quality of service and safety concerns, especially during
An exhibition celebrating Taiwan and Japan’s comic culture opened on Saturday in Taichung, featuring a section that explores Taiwanese reproductions of Japanese comics from when martial law limited Japanese representation. “A Century of Manga Culture: An Encounter of Taiwan and Japan’s Youth” held its Taiwan opening ceremony at Taichung’s National Taiwan Museum of Comics after an initial one-month run in Japan’s Kyoto International Manga Museum between May 24 and June 24. Much like the Kyoto exhibition, the show mainly celebrates the comic connection between Taiwan and Japan through late Taiwanese comic book