A unanimous decision to slash all World League for Freedom and Democracy (WLFD) and Asian Pacific League for Freedom and Democracy (APLFD) budgets proposed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was reached during a meeting of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) legislative caucus for foreign and national defense.
The APLFD was formed as the Asian People’s Anti-Communist League in June 15, 1954, with members including the Republic of China (ROC), South Korea, the Philippines, Thailand, then-South Vietnam, Hong Kong, Macau and Japan’s Ryuku Islands.
In 1967, members of the APLFD founded the World Anti-Communist League, whose name was changed into the World League for Freedom and Democracy in 1990. The organization, in 1993, was recognized by the UN as an official non-governmental organization.
The DPP has since 2000 said that the WFLD was primarily a pan-Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) organization that catered to KMT “fat cats,” and the DPP has tried unsuccessfully for years to cut the organizations’ budgets.
The DPP said neither organization contributed much to Taiwan’s international standing and both had a higher personnel expenses ratio than the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy.
The WLFD cost the nation NT$28 million (US$889,651) annually.
Some legislators said that the salary for WLFD president Yao Eng-chi (饒穎奇) exceeded that of a ministerial-level official, adding that the organization existed as a retirement house for elderly KMT members and should be abolished.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said it would make an official statement when the DPP legislative caucus entered the issue on the Legislative Yuan roster.
However, the ministry said slashing the WLFD budget might affect Taiwan’s number of official non-governmental organizations on the international scale, especially considering that the WLFD was an official member of the UN’s non-governmental organization branch.
Sources said that ministry officials, speaking under anonymity, tried to persuade the DPP legislature caucus to retain the personnel expenses budget.
The Taipei Department of Health’s latest inspection of fresh fruit and vegetables sold in local markets revealed a 25 percent failure rate, with most contraventions involving excessive pesticide residues, while two durians were also found to contain heavy metal cadmium at levels exceeding safety limits. Health Food and Drug Division Director Lin Kuan-chen (林冠蓁) yesterday said the agency routinely conducts inspections of fresh produce sold at traditional markets, supermarkets, hypermarkets, retail outlets and restaurants, testing for pesticide residues and other harmful substances. In its most recent inspection, conducted in May, the department randomly collected 52 samples from various locations, with testing showing
The government should improve children’s outdoor spaces and accelerate carbon reduction programs, as the risk of heat-related injury due to high summer temperatures rises each year, Greenpeace told a news conference yesterday. Greenpeace examined summer temperatures in Taipei, New Taipei City, Taoyuan, Hsinchu City, Taichung, Tainan and Kaohsiung to determine the effects of high temperatures and climate change on children’s outdoor activities, citing data garnered by China Medical University, which defines a wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 29°C or higher as posing the risk of heat-related injury. According to the Central Weather Administration, WBGT, commonly referred to as the heat index, estimates
Taipei and other northern cities are to host air-raid drills from 1:30pm to 2pm tomorrow as part of urban resilience drills held alongside the Han Kuang exercises, Taiwan’s largest annual military exercises. Taipei, New Taipei City, Keelung, Taoyuan, Yilan County, Hsinchu City and Hsinchu County are to hold the annual Wanan air defense exercise tomorrow, following similar drills held in central and southern Taiwan yesterday and today respectively. The Taipei Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) and Maokong Gondola are to run as usual, although stations and passenger parking lots would have an “entry only, no exit” policy once air raid sirens sound, Taipei
Taipei placed 14th in the Quacquarelli Symonds (QS) Best Student Cities 2026 list, its highest ever, according to results released yesterday. With an overall score of 89.1, the city climbed 12 places from the previous year, surpassing its previous best ranking of 17th in 2019. Taipei is “one of Asia’s leading higher-education hubs,” with strong employer activity scores and students “enjoying their experience of the city and often keen to stay after graduation,” a QS staff writer said. In addition to Taipei, Hsinchu (71st), Tainan (92nd), Taichung (113th) and Taoyuan (130th) also made QS’ list of the top 150 student cities. Hsinchu showed the
RSS