Members of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Taiwan were practicing the slogan “Taiwan can help” across the world long before it became popular, and the nation’s “warm power” has led to the establishment of ties with Somaliland, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said at a ceremony yesterday.
Held at the Taipei Guest House, the ceremony was part of week-long activities that the ministry is holding to mark the 20th anniversary of its Department of NGO International Affairs.
Taiwan faces “special” diplomatic surroundings, but its NGOs have long developed the nation’s warm power and clout in areas such as healthcare, gender equality and humanitarian aid, Wu said.
Photo: Peng Wan-hsin, Taipei Times
While the slogan “Taiwan can help” went viral over the past few years, its spirit was long been practiced by NGO members in various areas, he said.
For example, the Taiwan Foundation for Democracy is the first nation-level foundation for democratic aid in Asia and has made great contributions to promoting democratic achievements and human rights, he said.
In the field of gender equality, where Taiwan has won global acclaim, the Garden of Hope Foundation has performed outstanding work improving movements supporting women’s rights and gender equality, he added.
In environmental protection, the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy has since 2018 been hosting the annual Global Corporate Sustainability Forum, the biggest of its kind in Asia, allowing Taiwan to keep abreast of global trends in related issues, he said.
Wu also named the Tzu Chi Foundation and Taiwan Root Medical Peace Corps as forerunners of relaying humanitarian aid to other countries.
The corps also played a key role in helping Taiwan and Somaliland build relations, he added.
The corps conducted medical visits to the east African nation more than a decade ago.
Taiwan and Somaliland established representative offices in each other’s capitals this year.
Corps chairman Liu Chi-chun (劉啟群) said that NGOs should play three roles: collaborators or competitors with the government, or agencies helping monitor government activity.
NGOs can work with the government if they share the same goals, but they can also compete with the government if their positions differ, he said.
While many Taiwanese tend to donate to religious organizations, Liu expressed the hope that people would lend more support to non-religious NGOs.
Officials at the ceremony presented awards to outstanding NGOs in six areas: healthcare, humanitarian aid, social welfare, environmental sustainability, sports and culture, and public policy.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) and St Kitts and Nevis Ambassador to Taiwan Jasmine Elise Huggins also attended the ceremony.
GOOD DIPLOMACY: The KMT has maintained close contact with representative offices in Taiwan and had extended an invitation to Russia as well, the KMT said The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) would “appropriately handle” the fallout from an invitation it had extended to Russia’s representative to Taipei to attend its international banquet last month, KMT Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday. US and EU representatives in Taiwan boycotted the event, and only later agreed to attend after the KMT rescinded its invitation to the Russian representative. The KMT has maintained long-term close contact with all representative offices and embassies in Taiwan, and had extended the invitation as a practice of good diplomacy, Chu said. “Some EU countries have expressed their opinions of Russia, and the KMT respects that,” he
CHANGES: After-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during vacations or after-school study periods must not be used to teach new material, the ministry said The Ministry of Education yesterday announced new rules that would ban giving tests to most elementary and junior-high school students during morning study and afternoon rest periods. The amendments to regulations governing public education at elementary schools and junior high schools are to be implemented on Aug. 1. The revised rules stipulate that schools are forbidden to use after-school tutoring periods, extracurricular activities during summer or winter vacation or after-school study periods to teach new course material. In addition, schools would be prohibited from giving tests or exams to students in grades one to eight during morning study and afternoon break periods, the
Advocates of the rights of motorcycle and scooter riders yesterday protested in front of the Ministry of Transportation and Communications in Taipei, making three demands. They were joined by 30 passenger vehicles, which surrounded the ministry to make three demands related to traffic regulations — that motorcycles and scooters above 250cc be allowed on highways, that all motorcycles and scooters be allowed on inside lanes, and that driver and rider training programs be reformed. The ministry said that it has no plans to allow motorcycles on national highways for the time being, and said that motorcycles would be allowed on the inner
AMENDMENT: Contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau must be reported, and failure to comply could result in a prison sentence, the proposal stated The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) yesterday voted against a proposed bill by Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) lawmakers that would require elected officials to seek approval before visiting China. DPP Legislator Puma Shen’s (沈伯洋) proposed amendments to the Act Governing Relations Between the People of the Taiwan Area and the Mainland Area (臺灣地區與大陸地區人民關係條例), stipulate that contact with certain individuals in China, Hong Kong and Macau should be reported, while failure to comply would be punishable by prison sentences of up to three years, alongside a fine of NT$10 million (US$309,041). Fifty-six voted with the TPP in opposition