The Taipei Representative Office in Budapest on Wednesday announced it would donate US$10,000 to a Ukrainian organization to help it arrange summer vacation activities for Ukrainian children who are refugees in Hungary.
Representative to Hungary Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠) announced the donation to the Litera Association, a Ukrainian organization registered in Hungary, at the final show that Taiwan’s Paper Windmill Theatre performed at the Taiwan to Europe Culture Touring event.
The troupe — which produces shows for children — drew more than 5,000 Hungarians, Ukrainian refugees and visitors from around the globe with its five performances at the event, which it organized jointly with the Taipei-based General Association of Chinese Culture, the office said.
Photo courtesy of the Taipei Representative Office in Bratislava
With the money, Litera is to arrange educational and cultural activities during the summer vacation for Ukrainian refugee children in Vas County in western Hungary, the office said.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has been providing material and humanitarian aid to Ukrainian refugees, including more than US$1.5 million in donations and by assisting the Hungarian government to resettle Ukrainian refugees, Liu said.
Taiwan hopes that Ukrainian children would be safe in Hungary, and nourished by Ukrainian education and culture, he said.
Litera president Vitalii Zakharchenko expressed deep gratitude to Taiwan, saying that although Taipei and Kyiv are 8,000km apart, the two nations are closely linked, the office said.
The independence of Taiwan and Ukraine are threatened by ambitious neighbors, Zakharchenko said, adding that “we believe victory is on our side.”
Litera, the only Ukrainian non-governmental organization in western Hungary, has been providing temporary shelter, humanitarian aid, and educational and cultural courses to Ukrainian refugees, it said.
The association is also working with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to provide legal and psychological counseling services for them, it said.
More than 50,000 Ukrainians have registered as refugees in Hungary and about 36,000 of them have submitted applications for short-term protection, it said.
In other news, Taiwan’s representative office in Slovakia on Wednesday signed an agreement to help improve outdoor spaces at schools in Bratislava’s Stare Mesto, the historic center of the Slovak capital.
The pact was inked by Representative to Slovakia David Lee (李南陽) and Stare Mesto Mayor Matej Vagac, the Bratislava office wrote on Facebook.
The two sides have collaborated on projects over the years and Taiwan is willing to continue assisting, Lee said.
Vagac thanked Taiwan’s government for helping Stare Mesto improve the safety and security of its schoolyards by providing funds for lighting, renovating playgrounds and installing surveillance cameras.
Many of the facilities across public elementary and middle schools in Bratislava are old and worn out, he said.
Vagac took office in October last year.
He visited Taiwan in March, attending the Smart City Expo.
Additional reporting by CNA
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