President Chen Shui-bian flew to Penghu on February 25 to give honor and appreciation to Ms. Marjorie I. Bly, a winner of the 4th Medical Devotion Award.
Ms. Bly arrived in Taiwan from the state of Missouri 54 years ago. Since then, she, as a nurse, has taken care of leprosy patients in Penghu, an outlying island, for 52 years. For her unselfish and humanitarian devotion, the president praised Ms. Bly " 'the greatest of the greatest' in the hearts of the 23 million Taiwan citizens."
"As far as Ms. Bly's devotion to Taiwan is concerned, she is more Taiwanese than the Taiwanese," said the president. Referring to the connotation given by Ms. Bly's Chinese name and her profession, the president added that Ms. Bly is "the eternal Lady White, the "treasured pearl" that lasts forever." Though Ms. Bly came from the United States of America and could hardly speak a work in Mandarin when she arrived 54 years ago, "her love and devotion, however, have crossed all the barriers and is the model that we should look up to," said the president.
The president also brought good tidings to Ms. Bly. "The human right statutes related to the leprosy patients have been submitted to the Legislative Yuan and is expected to be reviewed and passed soon," the president said and showed his deepest concern.
Ms. Bly has been ailing and hospitalized in the government-run Penghu Hospital. On his visit the president asked the health minister and the minister of the interior to provide full medical support to her. Also to honor her love to Taiwan, the government granted Ms. Bly permanent residency in Taiwan in 2002.