Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) on Monday pledged to donate US$500,000 to rebuild the Ukrainian town of Bucha after it was devastated by Russian troops.
Wu made the pledge during a video call with Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk. He expressed concern for Ukrainians and said Taiwanese support Ukraine in its defense against an invasion launched by an authoritarian regime, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement.
Wu made similar calls with the primate of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine on June 10, the mayor of Kharkiv on May 31 and the mayor of Kyiv on April 22, pledging to donate US$13.2 million in total to help Ukraine rebuild.
Wu on Monday wrote on Twitter that he had an “emotional call” with the mayor of Bucha, where “some of the worst war crimes committed by Russia against the innocent” happened, referring to the reported massacre of hundreds of civilians by invading Russian forces.
“Taiwan will continue to stand with Ukraine in its fight for sovereignty, freedom & democracy,” Wu wrote.
More than 400 bodies have been found since April 12, following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the town after a month of occupation, Fedoruk has said.
Wu on Monday reiterated that Taiwan condemns in the strongest terms the “merciless massacre of civilians,” while joining calls from the international community for an immediate investigation into the matter.
The government has shipped 582 tonnes of humanitarian aid donated by Taiwanese to Ukrainians displaced by Russia’s attack and donated more than US$40 million to help Ukrainian refugees, medical institutions and churches affected by the invasion, Wu said.
Wu told Fedoruk that Taiwan has long faced Chinese military coercion and understood “perfectly” how Ukraine felt.
Fedoruk expressed gratitude for the government’s support and assistance.
He said Ukrainians would never forgive the “brutal and barbarous” acts conducted by Russia within Ukraine and in Bucha.
Fedoruk said that Ukraine’s government and its people would always remember the staunch support of Taiwan and would make good use of every penny of the money donated by the nation.
Taiwan would benefit from more integrated military strategies and deployments if the US and its allies treat the East China Sea, the Taiwan Strait and the South China Sea as a “single theater of operations,” a Taiwanese military expert said yesterday. Shen Ming-shih (沈明室), a researcher at the Institute for National Defense and Security Research, said he made the assessment after two Japanese military experts warned of emerging threats from China based on a drill conducted this month by the Chinese People’s Liberation Army’s (PLA) Eastern Theater Command. Japan Institute for National Fundamentals researcher Maki Nakagawa said the drill differed from the
‘WORSE THAN COMMUNISTS’: President William Lai has cracked down on his political enemies and has attempted to exterminate all opposition forces, the chairman said The legislature would motion for a presidential recall after May 20, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Eric Chu (朱立倫) said yesterday at a protest themed “against green communists and dictatorship” in Taipei. Taiwan is supposed to be a peaceful homeland where people are united, but President William Lai (賴清德) has been polarizing and tearing apart society since his inauguration, Chu said. Lai must show his commitment to his job, otherwise a referendum could be initiated to recall him, he said. Democracy means the rule of the people, not the rule of the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), but Lai has failed to fulfill his
A rally held by opposition parties yesterday demonstrates that Taiwan is a democratic country, President William Lai (賴清德) said yesterday, adding that if opposition parties really want to fight dictatorship, they should fight it on Tiananmen Square in Beijing. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) held a protest with the theme “against green communists and dictatorship,” and was joined by the Taiwan People’s Party. Lai said the opposition parties are against what they called the “green communists,” but do not fight against the “Chinese communists,” adding that if they really want to fight dictatorship, they should go to the right place and face
A 79-year-old woman died today after being struck by a train at a level crossing in Taoyuan, police said. The woman, identified by her surname Wang (王), crossed the tracks even though the barriers were down in Jhongli District’s (中壢) Neili (內壢) area, the Taoyuan Branch of the Railway Police Bureau said. Surveillance footage showed that the railway barriers were lowered when Wang entered the crossing, but why she ventured onto the track remains under investigation, the police said. Police said they received a report of an incident at 6:41am involving local train No. 2133 that was heading from Keelung to Chiayi City. Investigators
RSS