Taiwan News
Date: 2015-08-19
By: Central News Agency

Taipei, Aug. 19 (CNA) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) presented medals Wednesday to a local hospital and a Los Angeles-based foundation set up by a Taiwanese national living in the United States, in recognition of their international humanitarian efforts.

Foreign Minister David Lin conferred the Friend of Foreign Service Medal on Lee Fa-kung , superintendent of Taipei-based Cathay General Hospital, and Tina Bow , founder of the SimplyHelp Foundation. In his address, Lin noted that since 2007, Cathay General Hospital has been sending medical teams to Paraguay, Fiji, India and Mongolia to serve people there.

For example, in 2007, 2009 and 2010, the hospital sent medical teams to Paraguay to provide services to people in different parts of the country, which is Taiwan’s only diplomatic ally in South America, Lin said. In May, the hospital’s team performed 20 free artificial joint replacement surgeries on people in Paraguay, the ministry said. The hospital has also helped to train medical personnel from Vietnam, Paraguay and Mongolia, Lin said.     [FULL  STORY]