President Ma Ying-jeou met on the morning of January 30 with Lions Clubs International (LCI) President Joseph Preston and Mrs. Preston, along with high-ranking officials from LCI MD 300 Taiwan. The president applauded the outstanding contributions made by Lions Clubs in serving the international community, and reiterated the ROC’s active role as a "provider of humanitarian aid."
In remarks, President Ma stated that the LCI is the world's largest international service group. The organization has 1.36 million members in 209 jurisdictions, and strives to promote the spirit of universal benevolence. At the same time, the organization is also involved in a variety of humanitarian aid and social service movements. The name "Lions Club" carries prestige throughout the world and the organization has made distinguished contributions in its mission.
President Ma mentioned that since taking office in 2008, he has met with former LCI presidents Eberhard J. Wirfs, Sid L. Scruggs III, Wing-Kun Tam (譚榮根), and Barry J. Palmer. Mr. Preston took office in July of last year and selected "Strengthen the Pride" as the organization's 2014-15 Lions Theme. The president expressed his confidence that, as it embarks on its 98th year, Lions Clubs will be able to reach new heights under the leadership of Mr. Preston and benefit the international community.
President Ma specially thanked the LCI for generously donating funds to assist in the reconstruction of Kaohsiung City after that city was rocked by a series of gas explosions last year, and also in the wake of destruction caused by Typhoon Morakot in 2009. LCI Foundation donated a total of US$2.25 million to the Kaohsiung City government after the gas explosions to purchase fire trucks and fire prevention equipment for the disaster area. The president also noted that Lions Clubs members stepped forward after Typhoon Morakot, displaying an amazing ability to mobilize their membership and extend compassion. In addition to donating a total of US$190,000, they established a special account to raise funds for the victims and also provided financial support to schools in disaster areas.
The president also mentioned the charitable activities that LCI MD 300 Taiwan takes part in. Members have actively promoted a range of public service activities over the years, with the most noteworthy being blood drives and the donation of vehicles that serve as mobile blood donation stations. The organization has already donated over 70 such vehicles, which are parked at government agencies and in the vicinity of schools, making it convenient for the public to donate blood. The public enthusiastically donates blood. President Ma cited statistics indicating that over seven million people here have done so. Over 8% of the public donated blood in 2011, which was higher than the rate in the United States, Japan and Australia, highlighting Taiwan's international image as a "compassionate society," he said.
The president commented that the ROC strives to serve as a "provider of humanitarian aid." One instance of this was following the March 11 Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, when the government and people of the ROC donated a total of US$212 million. In November 2013, Typhoon Haiyan caused devastation to the Philippines and Palau, after which our government and public also made donations, in cash and material goods, worth a total of over US$11.76 million. In addition, in a week after the disaster, the ROC delivered assistance to the disaster areas via military cargo transport planes and naval vessels. President Ma then noted that the ROC government in September 2013 assisted private groups here in jointly founding the Taiwan Alliance in International Development (Taiwan AID), establishing a cooperative platform to share information and resources in providing international humanitarian rescue and relief services. This enhances the ability and capacity of Taiwan's non-governmental organizations to carry out international relief work. To date, over 20 organizations have joined Taiwan AID, and service is being provided in all corners of the globe.
The president also mentioned that the ROC has spared no effort in cooperating in the international work to prevent the outbreak of disease. Last year it donated 100,000 sets of protective gear, helping African nations to combat the Ebola virus. This type of activity exhibits the ROC's empathy and further proves that Taiwan has truly become an "exporter of compassionate assistance," he said.