Taipei hospital, US foundation honored by MOFA

2015/08/21

A Taipei City hospital and U.S. nongovernmental organization were awarded special service medals in recognition of their international humanitarian efforts Aug. 19 by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Cathay General Hospital and SimplyHelp Foundation, represented by CGH Superintendent Lee Fa-Kung and SHF founder Tina Bow, respectively, received Friend of Foreign Service Medals from MOFA Minister David Lin during a ceremony at the ministry’s headquarters in Taipei.

“The hospital has sent teams to countries such as Fiji, India, Mongolia, Paraguay and Vietnam, treating patients and train medical personnel,” Lin said. “Particularly praiseworthy is its work undertaken in Paraguay, the ROC’s only South American diplomatic ally.”

According to Lin, CGH medicos visited Paraguay in 2007, 2009, 2010 and 2015. “In May, they performed 20 free joint replacement surgeries and made a real difference to those suffering debilitating pain,” he said.

Equally significant, the minister said, are the contributions of SHF in helping the government deliver overseas humanitarian assistance. “The foundation successfully partners with the MOFA time and time again in collecting items from ROC expats in the U.S. for distribution in Africa, Latin America and the South Pacific.”

Established in 2000, Los Angeles-based SHF has sent around 200 containers of supplies to 25 countries and territories. It also set up assistance centers for the elderly and vocational training facilities for women in ROC diplomatic allies El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua and Panama.

In response, Lee and Bow expressed gratitude for the medals and pledged to continue the good work of their organizations while cooperating with the government in fulfilling its medical and humanitarian assistance goals abroad.

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=234009&ctNode=413)