Ukraine received 48 retired emergency vehicles donated by Taiwan via Poland on Tuesday as part of Taipei’s ongoing efforts to help the eastern European country’s resistance against Russia’s invasion.
The vehicles were officially handed over to the Ukrainian side during a ceremony held in the Polish city of Gdansk that was attended by Representative to Poland Sharon Wu (吳尚年) and Lesia Duplii, deputy mayor of the Ukrainian city of Marganets.
Also in attendance were representatives from the Poland-based Regional Development Foundation and the Ukraine-based Heart in Action foundation.
Photo courtesy of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
The 48 retired emergency vehicles, including ambulances, were refurbished by Pai Tsan-jung (白璨榮), a Changhua County businessman.
During a donation ceremony in June, Pai said that the initial plan was to purchase used emergency vehicles from abroad and deliver them to Ukraine, but that idea proved too expensive.
So instead, he decided to buy retired ambulances and fire trucks from the government, and have refurbished them locally, he said then.
TAIWAN’S HELP
In a prerecorded clip, Kira Rudik, leader of the liberal Holos party in Ukraine, thanked Taiwan and Pai in particular for donating the emergency vehicles.
The vehicles would soon begin the final leg of their journey to Ukraine, and would save lives, she said.
“Thank you to each and every one of you. Mr Pai and the whole team. We will keep fighting and we will win,” Rudik said.
Taiwan has been offering assistance to Ukraine since Russia invaded the eastern European country in February last year.
As of February, the government and Taiwanese public had donated 27 tonnes of emergency medical supplies and 700 tonnes of humanitarian relief aid to Ukrainians, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan has also donated more than US$41 million to humanitarian organizations working with Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Lithuania to help settle Ukrainian refugees in those countries, ministry data showed.
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 fugitive in a suspected cosmetic surgery fraud case today returned to Taiwan from Canada, after being wanted for six years. Internet celebrity Su Chen-tuan (蘇陳端), known as Lady Nai Nai (貴婦奈奈), and her former boyfriend, plastic surgeon Paul Huang (黃博健), allegedly defrauded clients and friends of about NT$1 billion (US$30.66 million). Su was put on a wanted list in 2019 when she lived in Toronto, Canada, after failing to respond to subpoenas and arrest warrants from the Taipei District Prosecutors’ Office. Su arrived at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport at 5am today on an EVA Air flight accompanied by a
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
RSS