President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of May 29 with Kiwanis International President Alan Penn and Mrs. Penn. The president saluted the organization for its longstanding efforts in public service and social welfare activities, adding that he also personally donated US$1,250 to the Kiwanis to support the organization in promoting its project to eliminate maternal/neonatal tetanus (MNT) throughout the world.
In remarks, the president stated that Kiwanis International was founded in the US state of Michigan in 1915 and that it is currently headquartered in the state of Indiana. The organization has a lengthy history as a social welfare club, and its membership presently stands at 600,000. Kiwanis has chapters in over 80 countries throughout the world, and the president noted that the meaning of the word "kiwanis" is "where a need is served," which highlights the organization's commitment to working for the benefit of society. President Ma also said that the Taiwan District of Kiwanis International was established here in 1967, and presently there are over 300 chapters throughout Taiwan. The achievements of the Kiwanis here have been extraordinary, he added.
President Ma remarked that President Penn was born in Ohio and lived for eight years in Honduras during his childhood. Consequently, he developed a deep understanding of the poverty that afflicts that nation and came to embrace the value of coming to the assistance of others, the president said. After returning to the United States and completing his education, he actively dedicated himself to social welfare activities in the community. The president expressed his admiration for the work President Penn has carried out.
President Ma also stated that Kiwanis International has successfully eradicated iodine deficiency disorders around the world, which some people refer to as "thick neck" disease due to the swelling of the neck caused by a swelling of the thyroid. Last year, the president said, the organization announced that it was introducing its Eliminate MNT Project, under which active assistance in the form of tetanus vaccines would be provided to women of childbearing age in underdeveloped areas in order to ensure the health of women and their children. President Ma mentioned that he has long been a supporter of public service activities and therefore personally donated US$1,250 to this cause, becoming a Walter Zeller Fellow, in a gesture of concrete support.
The president also said that the people of Taiwan actively support public service activities. In his May 20 inauguration address, he mentioned that when mainland Chinese author Han Han (韓寒) visited Taiwan, he left his mobile phone in a cab and the driver immediately drove to Han's hotel to return the phone upon finding it. Meanwhile, a Japanese tourist here also lost a wallet in a taxi in Hualien and had already boarded a cruise liner that had left port when the taxi driver discovered it. The driver, Zeng Shi-cheng (曾世誠), used a boat to catch up with the vessel and a pulley was devised to lift the wallet back up into the hands of the tourist. President Ma said that these stories are quite amazing, yet they are commonplace in Taiwan.
President Ma also stated that the ROC government and public donated some 20 billion yen to Japan last year after the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake. The donations from Taiwan far surpassed the total donations of 17.5 billion yen that Japan received from 93 other countries. This, he said, has played an important role in improving relations between Taiwan and Japan to the best they have been in 40 years. Many Japanese have visited Taiwan to express their gratitude for this generosity, he said. In addition, the people of Taiwan currently provide financial sponsorship to about 320,000 underprivileged children, of whom some 210,000 live overseas. This is equivalent to about 1% of Taiwan's population, he said. These are all Taiwan's cultural assets that are not only stored in museums, but rather constitute "living culture." President Ma said that he is extremely proud to be the president of a nation in which the citizenry embraces the core values of kindness and honesty.
In addition to President Penn and Mrs. Penn, the visiting delegation included Kiwanis International Vice President Gunter Gasser and Mrs. Gasser, Director of the Eliminate MNT Project Randy Delay and Mrs. Delay, and Taiwan District of Kiwanis International Governor Hung Huan-kun (洪煥坤) and Mrs. Hung. The delegation was accompanied to the Presidential Office by Deputy Minister of the Interior Chien Tai-lang (簡太郎) to meet President Ma. Also attending the meeting were National Security Council Advisor Philip Y. M. Yang (楊永明), Deputy Minister of the Department of Health Lin Tzou-yieh (林奏延), and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Simon Shen-Yeaw Ko (柯森耀).