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.
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
An increase in Taiwanese boats using China-made automatic identification systems (AIS) could confuse coast guards patrolling waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast and become a loophole in the national security system, sources familiar with the matter said yesterday. Taiwan ADIZ, a Facebook page created by enthusiasts who monitor Chinese military activities in airspace and waters off Taiwan’s southwest coast, on Saturday identified what seemed to be a Chinese cargo container ship near Penghu County. The Coast Guard Administration went to the location after receiving the tip and found that it was a Taiwanese yacht, which had a Chinese AIS installed. Similar instances had also
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
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