The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) yesterday presented medals to a Taipei hospital and a Los Angeles-based foundation that was set up by a Taiwanese living in the US in recognition of their international humanitarian efforts.
Minister of Foreign Affairs David Lin (林永樂) conferred the Friend of Foreign Service Medal on Cathay General Hospital superintendent Lee Fa-kung (李發焜), and SimplyHelp Foundation founder Tina Bow (鮑潘曉黛).
Lin said that since 2007, Cathay General Hospital has been sending medical teams to Paraguay, Fiji, India and Mongolia.
For example, in 2007, 2009 and 2010, the hospital sent medical teams to Paraguay to provide services to people in different parts of the nation, which is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America, Lin said.
In May, a team from the hospital performed 20 free artificial joint replacement surgeries on Paraguayans, the ministry said.
The hospital has also helped to train medical personnel in Vietnam and Mongolia, Lin said.
At yesterday’s ceremony, Lin also praised Bow’s foundation for cooperating with the government in providing international humanitarian assistance.
The foundation has helped the ministry collect supplies from Taiwanese expatriates in the US for donation to people in Latin America, Africa and the South Pacific, the ministry said.
Bow established the foundation in 2000 in Los Angeles with the goal of helping to relieve poverty by providing emergency disaster relief, vocational training, and shelter and care for homeless elderly people.
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