Former Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) chairperson Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) yesterday officially announced the establishment of her foundation, the Thinking Taiwan Foundation, an organization which aims to develop charity projects and public policy.
“While it takes piles of cash to fill up a room, you can light up a room with a match. And that is what we’re trying to do,” said Tsai, who will chair the foundation, at the opening ceremony.
The foundation aimed to light three matches for Taiwan — deliberation and discussion of public policy, action to show compassion to local communities and acting as a catalyst for social action through participation, Tsai said of her first major move after losing the January presidential election.
Photo: Wang Min-wei, Taipei Times
“The ultimate goal would be to further the power of thinking, the power of action and the power of society,” said Tsai, whom many supporters expect to make another run for president in 2016.
Public policy is important because it would determine Taiwan’s future, which is bleak in many people’s eyes at present, she said.
Her foundation is determined to commit to charity works because over the years she has seen so many ordinary citizens and organizations get involved to help society move forward, she added.
The two primary goals are all about the people, she said.
“The most beautiful thing about Taiwan is its people. Without these passionate and sincere people, Taiwan would be a hollow place,” she said.
That was also why Tsai intended to make the foundation, which is funded from the NT$120 million (US$4 million) election subsidy Tsai received, free from political ideology and partisanship.
Among the board members of the foundation are former DPP secretary-general Su Jia-chyuan (蘇嘉全), Tsai’s running mate in the presidential election; former Chunghwa Telecom chairman Hochen Tan (賀陳旦); former deputy chairman of the Council for Economic Planning and Development Chang Ching-sen (張景森); journalist Antonio Chiang (江春男); and political commentator Yao Li-ming (姚立明).
Former finance minister Lin Chuan (林全) will serve as the foundation’s chief executive director.
The “Thinking Taiwan Forum” Web site, which was launched on Sunday, will play an integral part of public policy and social issues deliberation, Lin said.
The Web site will publish articles written by young professionals, academics, activists and prominent writers in six broad categories: including democracy, law, China affairs, economic affairs, society and culture.
The foundation also plans to hold open and closed-door conferences and workshops on various topics, Lin said.
According to Lin, the first closed-door conference on Taiwan’s future economic development model is scheduled to be held on Aug. 14 and Aug. 15. The conference will have panel discussions on macroeconomics, cross-strait economy, global economy, governance and a general discussion.
While the foundation will try to avoid political influence, Tsai will not shy from making political comments as a politician and a former presidential candidate, Lin said.
Tsai’s political affairs will be handled by her office, rather than the foundation, Lin said.
Taiwan has received more than US$70 million in royalties as of the end of last year from developing the F-16V jet as countries worldwide purchase or upgrade to this popular model, government and military officials said on Saturday. Taiwan funded the development of the F-16V jet and ended up the sole investor as other countries withdrew from the program. Now the F-16V is increasingly popular and countries must pay Taiwan a percentage in royalties when they purchase new F-16V aircraft or upgrade older F-16 models. The next five years are expected to be the peak for these royalties, with Taiwan potentially earning
STAY IN YOUR LANE: As the US and Israel attack Iran, the ministry has warned China not to overstep by including Taiwanese citizens in its evacuation orders The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday rebuked a statement by China’s embassy in Israel that it would evacuate Taiwanese holders of Chinese travel documents from Israel amid the latter’s escalating conflict with Iran. Tensions have risen across the Middle East in the wake of US and Israeli airstrikes on Iran beginning Saturday. China subsequently issued an evacuation notice for its citizens. In a news release, the Chinese embassy in Israel said holders of “Taiwan compatriot permits (台胞證)” issued to Taiwanese nationals by Chinese authorities for travel to China — could register for evacuation to Egypt. In Taipei, the ministry yesterday said Taiwan
Taiwan is awaiting official notification from the US regarding the status of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) after the US Supreme Court ruled US President Donald Trump's global tariffs unconstitutional. Speaking to reporters before a legislative hearing today, Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) said that Taiwan's negotiation team remains focused on ensuring that the bilateral trade deal remains intact despite the legal challenge to Trump's tariff policy. "The US has pledged to notify its trade partners once the subsequent administrative and legal processes are finalized, and that certainly includes Taiwan," Cho said when asked about opposition parties’ doubts that the ART was
If China chose to invade Taiwan tomorrow, it would only have to sever three undersea fiber-optic cable clusters to cause a data blackout, Jason Hsu (許毓仁), a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) legislator, told a US security panel yesterday. In a Taiwan contingency, cable disruption would be one of the earliest preinvasion actions and the signal that escalation had begun, he said, adding that Taiwan’s current cable repair capabilities are insufficient. The US-China Economic and Security Review Commission (USCC) yesterday held a hearing on US-China Competition Under the Sea, with Hsu speaking on
RSS