Taiwan and the US have teamed up to take part in the Women’s Livelihood Bond 3 (WLB3) initiative — a collaboration that American Institute in Taiwan Director Brent Christensen yesterday touted as “a testament to the United States’ and Taiwan’s commitment to the shared value of promoting women’s development and prosperity.”
The partnership was announced at a news conference at the Executive Yuan in Taipei, with Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Executive Yuan Minister Without Portfolio John Deng (鄧振中) and International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) Secretary-General Timothy Hsiang (項恬毅) joining Christensen.
Created by the Singapore-based Impact Investment Exchange (IIX), the Women’s Livelihood Bond Series is a series of debt securities to empower women in Southeast Asia by creating sustainable livelihoods, officials said at the event.
Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
WLB3 — the third tranche in the US$150 million four-part initiative — would assist 175,000 to 185,000 female entrepreneurs and socioeconomically disadvantaged women in Indonesia, India, Cambodia and the Philippines by financing loans, marketing and production and living expenses, they said.
Taiwan is participating in the WLB3 as a responsible member of the international community, and to reinforce ties in the region and bolster the government’s New Southbound Policy, as well as strategic cooperation with the US in the Indo-Pacific region, Wu said.
“The US-Taiwan collaboration on the Women’s Livelihood Bond builds upon our existing cooperation on several successful platforms and initiatives, such as the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, the Women’s Economic Empowerment Summit, and our collaboration in APEC,” Christensen said.
“We often describe our relationship with Taiwan with the phrase: ‘Real friends, real progress — zhen pengyou, zhen jinzhan (真朋友,真進展). But this is not just about advancing US-Taiwan ties. It is about like-minded partners standing together to promote common values and shared interests,” he said.
“We are proud to stand with Taiwan and other like-minded partners to promote, support and foster women’s economic empowerment around the world,” he said.
The WLB series exemplifies the new international paradigm of seeing public-private collaboration as a more powerful form of aid to developing countries, Deng said.
WLB3 demonstrates the results of Taiwan-US Infrastructure Finance Framework and Economic Prosperity Partnership Dialogue, he added.
Hsiang hailed WLB3 as a landmark case in the fund’s utilization of innovative financial instruments, adding that the initiative aims to meet the UN’s sustainable development goals.
Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 pandemic, WLB3 microfinancing would encourage female entrepreneurs to engage in domestic manufacturing that breaks the cycle of poverty and fosters economic resilience, he said.
As Taiwanese private investors have yet to take part in the WLB3, the ICDF is inviting them to consider purchasing WLB Series securities, he said.
The ICDF last month signed an agreement with IIX to contribute US$3 million to WLB3’s US$27.7 million debt securities, which closed on Thursday, officials said.
WLB1 raised US$8.5 million, while WLB2 raised US$12 million, they said, adding that the US International Development Finance Corp were among the investors, while Australia provided technical support.
SOLIDARITY WITH TAIWAN: MOFA thanked US lawmakers for introducing the bill, which aims to clarify the content of UN Resolution 2758 and questions Beijing’s claim to represent Taiwan in international organizations A bipartisan coalition of US congressmen on Monday introduced legislation that aims to counter China’s claim to represent Taiwan in international organizations. “For too long, Beijing has distorted policies and procedures at the UN and related bodies to assert its sovereignty claims over Taiwan, often to the detriment of global health and security efforts,” US Representative Gerry Connolly said in a news release. “This bipartisan legislation ensures that we stand in solidarity with this critical US partner,” he said. Connolly cosponsored the bill with the three other chairs of the Congressional Taiwan Caucus — US representatives Albio Sires, Mario Diaz-Balart and Steve
STANDING TOGETHER: The allies highlighted the importance of cross-strait peace in Japan’s first statement with the US on Taiwan since it switched diplomatic recognition The US and Japan on Friday vowed to stand firm together against an assertive China, and to step up cooperation on climate change and next-generation technology as US President Joe Biden made his first summit a show of alliance unity. Waiting nearly three months for his first foreign guest due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Biden told Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga that his country enjoyed “our iron-clad support” on security issues and beyond. “We’re going to work together to prove that democracies can still compete and win in the 21st century,” Biden told reporters, affectionately calling the Japanese leader “Yoshi.” A joint
F-5E CRASH: The body, which was found in a reef crevice near Nanren Fishing Port in Manjhou Township, was wearing Captain Pan Ying-chun’s uniform and name tag The body of a fighter pilot who had gone missing following a mid-air collision last month was yesterday found near a fishing port in Pingtung County, the air force said. A search-and-rescue team found Captain Pan Ying-chun’s (潘穎諄) body in a reef crevice near Nanren Fishing Port (南仁漁港) in Manjhou Township (滿州), the air force said. Pan was one of two pilots involved in the accident in which two single-seat F-5E jets collided as they were changing formation during a training mission. The other pilot, Lo Shang-hua (羅尚樺), ejected from his aircraft after the collision, but he did not have any
NARROWING DOWN: After searches at 23 locations and questioning 109 people, prosecutors say that mishandling at a construction site might have caused the crash Prosecutors yesterday indicted seven people in connection to the Taroko Express No. 408 derailment in Hualien County on April 2, in which 49 people died and more than 200 were injured. Among the indicted were Lee Yi-hsiang (李義祥), the driver of a crane truck that fell onto the tracks and into which the train crashed; his Vietnamese assistant, Hoa Van Hao; and workers at United Geotech Inc (聯合大地工程) and Tung Hsin Construction (東新營造), which undertook construction work near the site of the crash, Hualien prosecutor Chou Fang-yi (周芳怡) said. Lee, who owns Yi Hsiang Industry (義祥工業社), was indicted for negligence resulting in