Taiwan had as of the end of last month donated about 10,980 tonnes of white rice to countries suffering from food shortages amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
Prices of white rice around the world have fluctuated greatly, as border controls and lockdown measures implemented by nations to curb the spread of the virus have affected the global food supply chain, Agriculture and Food Agency Deputy Director-General Juang Lao-dar (莊老達) said on Tuesday.
With a sufficient national grain reserve, Taiwan plans to donate a total of 36,410 tonnes of white rice to 16 nations this year, including its diplomatic allies Haiti, Honduras, Nicaragua and Eswatini, as well as African countries affected by food shortages, Juang said.
Photo: CNA
The donations are part of Taiwan’s international humanitarian efforts, which have been ongoing for 18 years, to help nations suffering from grain shortages due to poverty, hunger or major disasters, he said.
The agency — which collaborates with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and non-governmental organizations such as the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation — has helped more than 40 countries in Africa, Central and South America, Asia and Oceania with grain donations, he said, adding that the amount of white rice donated totals about 400,000 tonnes.
The donations were made after ensuring that they would not disrupt domestic supplies or the international trade order, he added.
Honduras has been highlighted in the government’s grain donation efforts, as it had suffered a drought-induced food shortage before a wide range of economic activities came to a halt amid the COVID-19 outbreak, Juang said, adding that the rice donations were a timely relief for the nation.
“Seeing white rice bags printed with ‘Taiwan Can Help’ being loaded into containers brings us an indescribable sense of joy,” said an anonymous staff member of the grain-processing operator that works with the government on humanitarian aid.
It has been an honor to assist with the international donations, as it not only helps those in need, but also raises the global profile of Taiwanese rice, they added.
Former Czech Republic-based Taiwanese researcher Cheng Yu-chin (鄭宇欽) has been sentenced to seven years in prison on espionage-related charges, China’s Ministry of State Security announced yesterday. China said Cheng was a spy for Taiwan who “masqueraded as a professor” and that he was previously an assistant to former Cabinet secretary-general Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰). President-elect William Lai (賴清德) on Wednesday last week announced Cho would be his premier when Lai is inaugurated next month. Today is China’s “National Security Education Day.” The Chinese ministry yesterday released a video online showing arrests over the past 10 years of people alleged to be
THE HAWAII FACTOR: While a 1965 opinion said an attack on Hawaii would not trigger Article 5, the text of the treaty suggests the state is covered, the report says NATO could be drawn into a conflict in the Taiwan Strait if Chinese forces attacked the US mainland or Hawaii, a NATO Defense College report published on Monday says. The report, written by James Lee, an assistant research fellow at Academia Sinica’s Institute of European and American Studies, states that under certain conditions a Taiwan contingency could trigger Article 5 of NATO, under which an attack against any member of the alliance is considered an attack against all members, necessitating a response. Article 6 of the North Atlantic Treaty specifies that an armed attack in the territory of any member in Europe,
LIKE FAMILY: People now treat dogs and cats as family members. They receive the same medical treatments and tests as humans do, a veterinary association official said The number of pet dogs and cats in Taiwan has officially outnumbered the number of human newborns last year, data from the Ministry of Agriculture’s pet registration information system showed. As of last year, Taiwan had 94,544 registered pet dogs and 137,652 pet cats, the data showed. By contrast, 135,571 babies were born last year. Demand for medical care for pet animals has also risen. As of Feb. 29, there were 5,773 veterinarians in Taiwan, 3,993 of whom were for pet animals, statistics from the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Agency showed. In 2022, the nation had 3,077 pediatricians. As of last
XINJIANG: Officials are conducting a report into amending an existing law or to enact a special law to prohibit goods using forced labor Taiwan is mulling an amendment prohibiting the importation of goods using forced labor, similar to the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) passed by the US Congress in 2021 that imposed limits on goods produced using forced labor in China’s Xinjiang region. A government official who wished to remain anonymous said yesterday that as the US customs law explicitly prohibits the importation of goods made using forced labor, in 2021 it passed the specialized UFLPA to limit the importation of cotton and other goods from China’s Xinjiang Uyghur region. Taiwan does not have the legal basis to prohibit the importation of goods