The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Monday said it would pay for the delivery of supplies for Ukrainian refugees to Europe out of its own budget, even though it could cost as much as NT$200 million (US$6.82 million).
The ministry has not asked for assistance from the Executive Yuan to cover the delivery costs and would not draw on funds in a special account holding donations for Ukrainian refugees, it said in a statement.
It was responding to a media report that said it had asked the Executive Yuan to allocate funds to pay for the freight, which Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) Legislator Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) said could cost as much as NT$200 million.
The Executive Yuan was reluctant to do so, the Chinese-language United Daily News reported.
The ministry collected 650 tonnes of medical supplies and other goods donated by 8,474 people in Taiwan from March 7 to 18 as part of the government’s efforts to help Ukrainian refugees who fled after Russia invaded their country.
So far, 350 tonnes, or just over half of the supplies, have been delivered to nearby countries by DHL, the ministry said.
The ministry only allocated NT$16 million to cover the delivery of an expected 50 tonnes of supplies, but an unexpected outpouring of support meant a bigger freight bill, putting pressure on its NT$370 million international assistance budget, Lo said.
At a legislative session on April 14, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said the ministry might have to draw on funding from other departments to cover delivery costs and would ask the Executive Yuan for help if that was not enough.
Executive Yuan spokesman Lo Ping-cheng (羅秉成) on Monday said that the ministry has not asked it for assistance.
The special account established by the government raised a total of NT$930 million in donations for Ukraine from late March to early April, the ministry said.
Some of the money has already been donated to neighboring countries that are sheltering Ukrainian refugees, with US$5 million still remaining in the account, it said.
Ninth graders were asked to define “trolling” on this year’s standardized exam, reflecting efforts to make the test better reflect real-life situations. Adjustments to this year’s Comprehensive Assessment Program for Junior High School Students were revealed on Sunday, after the last cohort of students completed the test over the weekend. The Ministry of Education solicited feedback about the test from teachers, who approved of the new question in the English portion. Not only was question No. 20 “very much in line with real-life situations,” but it also used a new style in which students were asked to ascertain the correct dictionary definition based
Taiwan is on alert for monkeypox, a rare viral disease that has caused 87 infections in 11 countries over the past three weeks, the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) said on Saturday. The WHO on Friday convened an emergency session to discuss a sudden outbreak of monkeypox in North America and Europe. Since the beginning of this month, 87 confirmed cases and 28 possible cases have been identified in 11 countries. The countries with the highest case counts are England with 29 cases, and Portugal and Spain with 23 each. Monkeypox is a viral zoonotic disease occurring primarily in the tropical rainforest areas
ADAPTING: The CECC said the policy change would happen this week at the earliest, while PCR testing stations would be used to diagnose people and prescribe drugs The general public would be able to use a positive rapid test result that has been confirmed by a doctor for COVID-19 diagnosis starting later this week at the soonest, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday, as it reported 79,441 new local infections and 53 deaths. The center on Saturday announced that it was expanding the rapid test diagnosis policy to people living in indigenous townships and outlying islands, starting today. Minister of Health and Welfare Chen Shih-chung (陳時中), who heads the center, yesterday said the policy might be further expanded to include “all people” this week, at the soonest. He
About 47 percent of people whose deaths were related to COVID-19 this year have died within three days of testing positive, while 33 percent died within three to seven days, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) said yesterday. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) Deputy Director-General Chuang Jen-hsiang (莊人祥), the center’s spokesman, said 66,247 new local cases, 36 imported cases and 40 deaths were confirmed yesterday. As the number of daily confirmed cases has dropped in the past four days, from 90,331 cases on Thursday last week to 66,247 cases yesterday, the center was asked if Taiwan has reached the peak of a