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 Summer Festival is to begin tomorrow at Dadaocheng Wharf (大稻埕), featuring four themed firework shows and five live music performances throughout the month, the Taipei Department of Information and Tourism said today. The festival in the city’s Datong District (大同) is to run until Aug. 30, holding firework displays on Wednesdays and the final Saturday of the event. The first show is scheduled for tomorrow, followed by Aug. 13, 20 and 30. To celebrate the 30th anniversary of Disney Pixar's movie Toy Story, the festival has partnered with Walt Disney Co (Taiwan) to host a special themed area on
Aftershocks from a magnitude 6.2 earthquake that struck off Yilan County at 3:45pm yesterday could reach a magnitude of 5 to 5.5, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Seismological Center technical officer Chiu Chun-ta (邱俊達) told a news conference that the epicenter of the temblor was more than 100km from Taiwan. Although predicted to measure between magnitude 5 and 5.5, the aftershocks would reach an intensity of 1 on Taiwan’s 7-tier scale, which gauges the actual effect of an earthquake, he said. The earthquake lasted longer in Taipei because the city is in a basin, he said. The quake’s epicenter was about 128.9km east-southeast
BE CAREFUL: The virus rarely causes severe illness or death, but newborns, older people and those with medical conditions are at risk of more severe illness As more than 7,000 cases of chikungunya fever have been reported in China’s Guangdong Province this year, including 2,892 new cases last week, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) yesterday said it is monitoring the situation and considering raising the travel notice level, which might be announced today. The CDC issued a level 1 travel notice, or “watch,” for Guangdong Province on July 22, citing an outbreak in Foshan, a manufacturing hub in the south of the province, that was reported early last month. Between July 27 and Saturday, the province reported 2,892 new cases of chikungunya, reaching a total of 7,716
STAY VIGILANT: People should reduce the risk of chronic liver inflammation by avoiding excessive alcohol consumption, smoking and eating pickled foods, the physician said A doctor last week urged people to look for five key warning signs of acute liver failure after popular producer-turned-entertainer Shen Yu-lin (沈玉琳) was reportedly admitted to an intensive care unit for fulminant hepatitis. Fulminant hepatitis is the rapid and massive death of liver cells, impairing the organ’s detoxification, metabolic, protein synthesis and bile production functions, which if left untreated has a mortality rate as high as 80 percent, according to the Web site of Advancing Clinical Treatment of Liver Disease, an international organization focused on liver disease prevention and treatment. People with hepatitis B or C are at higher risk of
RSS