The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is preparing a series of events next month to mark the 20th anniversary of its Department of NGO International Affairs, including a ceremony to recognize outstanding non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and a forum to gather opinions about Chinese suppression of Taiwan.
The department was established in October 2000 to promote international cooperation and help domestic civic groups join global NGOs, Department of NGO International Affairs Director-General Constance Wang (王雪虹) told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
It would be the first time that the ministry has awarded NGOs and the ceremony, a tea party at the Taipei Guest House on Oct. 14, is to be attended by Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), Wang said.
Photo: Lu Yi-hsuan, Taipei Times
Awards are to be presented to NGOs with outstanding achievements in six major areas — public policy; healthcare; humanitarian aid; social welfare; environmental sustainability; and sports and culture, she said, adding that the department had formed a task force to select the winners.
Up to 45 groups are to set up stands on the sidelines of the event to share their achievements, Wang said, adding that foreign representatives of the nations that have collaborated with the NGOs would also be invited to the ceremony.
The ministry is to hold a leadership forum on Oct. 13 and Oct. 14 at its Institute of Diplomacy and International Affairs to exchange opinions with NGOs on issues such as how to respond to China’s suppression of Taiwan on the world stage; how to boost Taiwan’s global participation; fostering international affairs talent; promoting Taiwan’s visibility through digital technology; and improving fundraising skills, Wang said.
The department and the NGOs plan to issue a joint statement at the forum to promote even closer partnerships in the future, she said.
In addition, an exhibition at the institute from Oct. 12 to Oct. 16 would showcase Taiwan’s efforts to assist Nepal with reconstruction after the South Asian nation was devastated by a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in April 2015, Wang said.
Featuring documentaries, photographs and written records, the exhibition would demonstrate how the department used NT$196 million (US$6.72 million) of donations to help Nepal with its reconstruction efforts, she said.
A strong continental cold air mass and abundant moisture bringing snow to mountains 3,000m and higher over the past few days are a reminder that more than 60 years ago Taiwan had an outdoor ski resort that gradually disappeared in part due to climate change. On Oct. 24, 2021, the National Development Council posted a series of photographs on Facebook recounting the days when Taiwan had a ski resort on Hehuanshan (合歡山) in Nantou County. More than 60 years ago, when developing a branch of the Central Cross-Island Highway, the government discovered that Hehuanshan, with an elevation of more than 3,100m,
Death row inmate Huang Lin-kai (黃麟凱), who was convicted for the double murder of his former girlfriend and her mother, is to be executed at the Taipei Detention Center tonight, the Ministry of Justice announced. Huang, who was a military conscript at the time, was convicted for the rape and murder of his ex-girlfriend, surnamed Wang (王), and the murder of her mother, after breaking into their home on Oct. 1, 2013. Prosecutors cited anger over the breakup and a dispute about money as the motives behind the double homicide. This is the first time that Minister of Justice Cheng Ming-chien (鄭銘謙) has
TRANSPORT CONVENIENCE: The new ticket gates would accept a variety of mobile payment methods, and buses would be installed with QR code readers for ease of use New ticketing gates for the Taipei metro system are expected to begin service in October, allowing users to swipe with cellphones and select credit cards partnered with Taipei Rapid Transit Corp (TRTC), the company said on Tuesday. TRTC said its gates in use are experiencing difficulty due to their age, as they were first installed in 2007. Maintenance is increasingly expensive and challenging as the manufacturing of components is halted or becoming harder to find, the company said. Currently, the gates only accept EasyCard, iPass and electronic icash tickets, or one-time-use tickets purchased at kiosks, the company said. Since 2023, the company said it
Ferry operators are planning to provide a total of 1,429 journeys between Taiwan proper and its offshore islands to meet increased travel demand during the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday, the Maritime and Port Bureau said yesterday. The available number of ferry journeys on eight routes from Saturday next week to Feb. 2 is expected to meet a maximum transport capacity of 289,414 passengers, the bureau said in a news release. Meanwhile, a total of 396 journeys on the "small three links," which are direct ferries connecting Taiwan's Kinmen and Lienchiang counties with China's Fujian Province, are also being planned to accommodate
RSS