President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of March 25 with World Alliance of YMCAs (World YMCA) President Peter Posner and Mrs. Posner, as well as representatives from the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs (APAY). In addition to recognizing the longstanding contributions of the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) in youth education and public service activities, the president also explained the ROC's efforts and achievements in its roles as a peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid in the international arena.
In remarks, President Ma said that the YMCA has a history dating back over 170 years and has branches in over 120 countries and areas throughout the world. With 58 million members, the YMCA is one of the world's most important international clubs, he said.
Commenting on the history of relations between the YMCA and the ROC, President Ma stated that in 1922 the ROC was home to over 54,000 YMCA members who strived to promote public health programs, the anti-opium movement, and other public service activities. At that time, Y. C. James Yen (晏陽初), a renowned Chinese educator, had also promoted mass education with funding from the YMCA in Shanghai, the president said.
President Ma furthermore noted that the YMCA of Taiwan was established 70 years ago, and has been a formal member of the World YMCA for 46 years. In fact, the YMCA of Taiwan and the World YMCA have long jointly promoted a range of lifelong learning, education, and community development activities. For instance, the two organizations have cooperated in international summer camp volunteer exchanges and talent-cultivating projects. This, the president said, points to the close cooperation between the two on an international level.
President Ma stated that the ROC has sought to actively serve as a peacemaker and provider of humanitarian aid in the international arena. In particular, he mentioned its work in the development of peace and stability between the two sides of the Taiwan Strait, as well as the introduction of his East China Sea Peace Initiative in August of 2012. The Initiative urges all related parties to use peaceful means to resolve disputes in the East China Sea. In April of the following year, the ROC and Japan signed a fisheries agreement. Meanwhile, the ROC and the Philippines, following the Guang Da Xing No. 28 incident, in which a Philippine Coast Guard vessel fired on a Taiwanese fishing boat, killing a fisherman and damaging the boat, reached a three-point consensus on the enforcement of law at sea in overlapping exclusive economic zones. These examples also indicate that the ROC is fulfilling its role of peacemaker, he said.
As for being a provider of humanitarian aid, President Ma said that statistics show that over one million ROC nationals have served as volunteers in various fields. The percentage of the nation's population donating blood is 8%, a higher percentage than in the United States and Japan. The president added that ROC nationals provide financial sponsorship to about 340,000 underprivileged children, with about 240,000 of those children residing overseas. The ROC government since 2008 has also operated the Taiwanese Young Knight Project, providing a regional peace volunteer mechanism that recruits youth to participate in volunteer service. Over 11,000 volunteers have travelled abroad under this program over the past six years, engaging in volunteer work in remote areas. All of these examples are testament to the increasingly important role that Taiwan plays in international public service and charitable activities, the president said.
As for international aid, President Ma further explained that the ROC government donated 100,000 sets of personal protective equipment to medical workers treating the Ebola outbreak in West Africa. The ROC also donated US$1 million to the CDC Foundation in the United States as part of the international Ebola response fund.
The president also commented that the ROC's Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2009 launched the International Youth Ambassadors Exchange Program, under which outstanding students from local colleges and universities are selected to serve as youth ambassadors and conduct visits and exchanges with the ROC's diplomatic allies and countries friendly toward Taiwan. This year, 160 youth ambassadors will be selected and organized into 10 teams, to be dispatched to 41 cities in 35 countries across five continents to engage in cultural exchange. The president commented that this program is conducive to promoting understanding and friendship among youth from the ROC and the countries they visit.
Also in the delegation were World YMCA Secretary General Johan Eltvik and Mrs. Eltvik, APAY General Secretary Kohei Yamada and Mrs. Yamada, and YMCA of Taiwan General Secretary James Tou (竇仁君).