Press conference "Taiwan Stands with Ukraine: Assistance to Ukraine in Wartime"

On June 1, 2023, the Forest Initiatives and Communities NGO held a press conference in Lviv entitled "Taiwan Stands with Ukraine: Assistance to Ukraine in Wartime" to inform the public about the impressive aid provided to Ukraine by the people of Taiwan during wartime and to outline future prospects for cooperation with Taiwan. 

The event was attended by Ambassador Bob L.J. Chen, Representative and Head of the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, leaders of Ukrainian NGOs, representatives of the Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM), and Ukrainian volunteers. 

As a reminder, at the beginning of 2023, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of China (Taiwan) provided over 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine (mostly winter goods). This became possible through the efforts of Hanna Hopko, Chair of the Board of the National Interest Advocacy Network “ANTS” and co-founder of ICUV (International Center for Ukrainian Victory), who visited Taiwan last fall on an advocacy visit.  

Dmytro Karabchuk, founder of the Forest Initiatives and Communities (ForestCom) NGO, who moderated the meeting shared the results of humanitarian aid delivery across Ukraine owing to the team of the Forest Initiatives and Communities NGO, showed a video report on the delivery and distribution of aid, and noted that 

"support was provided to over 85 local communities that were under occupation or affected by shelling and that hosted IDPs in more than 14 regions of Ukraine; it was all enabled by dozens of other Ukrainian NGOs, local administrations, and hundreds of individual volunteers". 

According to Ambassador Bob L.J. Chen, Representative and Head of the Taipei Representative Office in Poland, 

"Ukrainian people have been inspiring to the people of Taiwan because Taiwan has also encountered the threats of authoritarian expansionist ambitions over the years. Your bravery and your solidarity in fighting against aggressors is most admirable."

The Ambassador expressed his firm belief that Ukrainian people are fighting not only for their own sovereignty and territorial integrity, but also for the rules-based international order and our shared values of freedom, democracy, and human rights.

By the way, on November 14 last year, Ambassador Bob L.J. Chen visited Lviv to attend the funeral service of the Taiwanese volunteer soldier, Jonathan Tseng, who, according to the diplomat, is an example of the support of Taiwanese people for Ukraine. 

It is noteworthy that Taiwan so far has committed more than 41 million USD and 700 tons of relief and medical supplies in assisting Ukrainian people through both bilateral and multilateral channels. Also, Taiwan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has earmarked a budget to assist Ukraine with its reconstruction and recovery projects, including hospitals, schools, churches, infrastructure, etc. 

Hanna Hopko, Chair of the Board of the National Interest Advocacy Network “ANTS,” emphasized that 

"the fate of the world is being shaped on the battlefield of Ukraine. Ukrainian victory is a common global victory and a clear message to authoritarian regimes."

The politician noted that Ukraine should strengthen cooperation with Taiwan, which, as an Asian stronghold of Western civilization, can provide Ukraine with state-of-the-art technologies and resources for recovery, reconstruction, and cooperation in democratic reforms.

Joanna Jahacy, Project Manager at the Polish Center for International Aid (PCPM), spoke about the enormous work and support her organization has been implementing to lend a helping hand to Ukraine since 2014. This includes helping Ukrainian students continue their education in Poland, assisting with the evacuation of people with disabilities, contributing to infrastructure restoration (energy systems in Kherson and Mykolaiv), creating jobs in the eastern part of Ukraine, providing financial support for Ukrainians, and many other initiatives.

Vasyl Sehin, CEO of the National Interest Advocacy Network “ANTS”, spoke about financial support from Taiwan to overcome the energy crisis (delivery of portable charging stations to hospitals in Kherson), as well as to restore proper water supply to those communities in Mykolaiv region that were under occupation. He thanked for the aid in the form of vehicles and equipment from Taiwanese manufacturers to implement remote education. He noted a special rapprochement between the two nations and expressed hope for the development of further initiatives because 

"in addition to humanitarian aid and response to crisis needs, we need to restore the economy. And this is where innovation and future partnerships can yield excellent results. We can transition from aid to effective win-win cooperation between our countries." 

Dmytro Sherenhovskyy, an expert on international affairs, Vice-Rector for Academic Affairs and Internationalization of the Ukrainian Catholic University, placed emphasis on educational initiatives, cooperation between UCU and the University of Taiwan. The latter created a package of various scholarships for Ukrainian universities, including even diploma programs. He shared the reflections of a UCU student who is currently doing his studies in Taiwan about the extraordinary closeness and mutual understanding between the Ukrainians and the people of Taiwan as well as their shared values. 

Petro Shot, humanitarian aid coordinator for de-occupied territories, shared impressive stories about people who are currently doing an important cause – delivering the much-needed aid to people.

Natalia Drebot, a volunteer from Snihurivka (Mykolaiv region), Artur Liubarets, a volunteer from Orikhiv (Zaporizhzhia region), and Svitlana Davydova from Putyvl (Sumy region) also expressed their profuse gratitude to the people of Taiwan.