Taipei, May 28 (CNA) President Ma Ying-jeou said Friday that helping reconstruct Haiti has effectively enhanced Taiwan’s global image and described it as a major achievement in line with his administration’s policy of “flexible diplomacy.” Taiwan was the quickest Asian country to help Haiti after a magnitude 7.0 earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation in January, and helping rebuild Haiti made Taiwan a “responsible” and “respectable” country in the international arena, Ma told a delegation that will attend a June 2 summit in the Dominican Republic.
The delegation, headed by Council of Agriculture Chairman Chen Wu-hsiung and including representatives from the Department of Health and the International Cooperation and Development Fund, will leave for the Dominican Republic on May 31 for the summit on Haiti’s reconstruction.
Speaking at the Presidential Office, Ma said the coming meeting will be very important for Taiwan to promote its image as a country that extends aid to countries in need through legal and effective approaches.
“To date, Taiwan has donated more than US$16 million in medical supplies, monetary aid and raw materials to Haiti, and we hope to extend comprehensive assistance to its quake victims in public health, housing, vocational training and taking care of orphans,” he said. “We hope Taiwan can look after between 8,000 and 12,000 Haitian orphans.” (By S. H. Lee and Flor Wang) enditem
Taiwan has been a friend of Haiti since 1954 when they opened one of Taiwan’s first embassies here. And now Preval is thinking of selling out.
The People’s Republic of China has offered something over $200,000,000 under the table if Preval and his team legislate Taiwan’s recognition into the garbage.