Taiwan’s Red Cross Society has raised a total of US$1.71 million for famine relief in East Africa, including US$1 million provided by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the charity group said yesterday.
The fundraising drive, launched last year, attracted donations from more than 5,300 people. The money will be used to provide medical stations, improve water resources, aid refugees and provide rice and other staples, the society said.
The relief programs sponsored by the ministry’s donation include aid for refugee camps in Somalia as well as water and hygiene facilities in Ethiopia. Of the donated money, US$1.15 million has gone to Kenya, where a large number of refugees are gathered along the border.
The society is also planning to set up medical stations in refugee camps to take care of children under five, pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers and disadvantaged groups. An estimated 60,000 people are expected to benefit from the health program.
A total of US$650,000 will be used in an aid program co--organized by the ministry and Feed the Children, an international organization dedicated to providing resources for those without life’s essentials.
In Ethiopia, the society will help build and renovate water facilities in the Oromiya and Afar regions. It also plans to train 100 volunteers to help with public health and to distribute water purifiers for 27,000 households.
East Africa has been seriously affected by a drought since July. Children are dying from starvation, with more than 13 million lives threatened.
FAST TRACK? Chinese spouses must renounce their Chinese citizenship and pledge allegiance to Taiwan to gain citizenship, some demonstrators said Opponents and supporters of a bill that would allow Chinese spouses to obtain Taiwanese citizenship in four years instead of six staged protests near the Legislative Yuan in Taipei yesterday morning. Those who oppose the bill proposed by the Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) demanded that Chinese spouses be granted citizenship only after renouncing their Chinese citizenship, passing a citizenship test and pledging allegiance to Taiwan. The demonstrators, who were protesting at a side entrance to the Legislative Yuan on Jinan Road, were mostly members of the Taiwan Association of University Professors and other organizations advocating Taiwanese independence. Supporters of the bill, led
SILENT MAJORITY: Only 1 percent of Chinese rejected all options but war to annex Taiwan, while one-third viewed war as unacceptable, a university study showed Many Chinese are more concerned with developments inside their country than with seeking unification with Taiwan, al-Jazeera reported on Friday. Although China claims Taiwan as its own territory and has vowed to annex it, by force if necessary, 23-year-old Chinese Shao Hongtian was quoted by al-Jazeera as saying that “hostilities are not the way to bring China and Taiwan together.” “I want unification to happen peacefully,” Shao said. Al-Jazeera said it changed Shao’s name to respect his wish for anonymity. If peaceful unification is not possible, Shao said he would prefer “things to remain as they are,” adding that many of his friends feel
Taiwan has “absolute air superiority” over China in its own airspace, Deputy Minister of National Defense Po Horng-huei (柏鴻輝) told a meeting of the legislature’s Foreign Affairs and National Defense Committee on Monday, amid concern over whether Taipei could defend itself against a military incursion by Beijing. Po made the remarks in response to a question from Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Chiu Chih-wei (邱志偉) on whether Taiwan would have partial or complete air superiority if Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA) warplanes were to enter Taiwan’s airspace. Po, a retired pilot, said that the Taiwanese military has “absolute air superiority” over PLA
A shipment of basil pesto imported by Costco Wholesale Taiwan from the US in the middle of last month was intercepted at the border after testing positive for excessive pesticide residue, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said yesterday. Samples taken from a shipment of the Kirkland Signature brand of basil pesto imported by Costco contained 0.1 milligrams per kilogram of ethylene oxide, exceeding the non-detectable limit. Ethylene oxide is a carcinogenic substance that can be used as a pesticide. The 674kg shipment of basil pesto would either be destroyed or returned to its country of origin, as is the procedure for all