President Ma Ying-jeou met with Rotary International President John Kenny and Mrs. Kenny at the Presidential Office on the morning of August 4. Also in attendance was the new district governor of Rotary Club Taiwan. The president expressed his appreciation to the Rotary Club for the assistance it is providing in the upcoming Deaflympics in Taipei and affirmed the public sevice activities of the Rotary Club over the years.
President Ma noted that Mr. Kenny is a native of Scotland. On this visit, he is appealing to over 5,000 volunteers to assist the Taipei City Government during the course of the Deaflympics. The president said he admired Mr. Kenny for his efforts in this regard. The Rotary Club is one of the world's four major international social service organizations. It presently has over 1.2 million members throughout the globe and 80,000 members in Taiwan, he said. The large number of Rotary members here demonstrates the high degree of enthusiasm that the people of Taiwan have for participating in international public service and charitable activities, the president said.
President Ma commented that the Rotary Club has long played a prominent role in public service. One of its most noteworthy initiatives has been the prevention and treatment of polio. In 1988, an average of 1,000 children were infected by the polio virus around the world each day. These days, however, the number of people newly infected with polio is extremely small. The president said he is proud that the ROC (Taiwan) was one of the nations taking part in this project. In addition, the Rotary Club has been involved in many activities to care for children around the world, demonstrating the organization's concern for the underprivileged, he said.
President Ma mentioned to the visitors that he is an honorary member of the Taipei Rotary Club and that he has a long history of interaction with the organization. The president said he feels the exchange programs organized by the Rotary Club in which youth stay with a Rotary Club host family in another country are extremely meaningful as they promote cultural interaction and international understanding. The president added that in addition to mobilizing over 5,000 volunteers to provide service during the upcoming Taipei Deaflympics, the Rotary Club has also donated 1,200 vibrating alarms to provide warning to the athletes in the event of an emergency.
President Ma remarked that the Deaflympics will get underway in just over one month and that everyone is extremely excited. He said that Taipei's quest to hold the games stemmed from a desire to make the Deaflympics an important event for both Taipei City and Taiwan. In fact, he said, the Deaflympics are an important international competition under the Olympics family umbrella and that Taipei is extremely proud to hold the event. The president added that recently the Kaohsiung World Games were a great success. In one single year, Taiwan will have held two important international athletics events, which for Taiwan marks an important milestone in its efforts to be an active member of the international community. Lastly, President Ma expressed his hopes that the Rotary Club and the government will continue to strengthen their cooperation in the area of public service. He also hopes that the Rotary Club Taiwan will continue to make a contribution in the activities organized by Rotary International.