Taichung in central Taiwan hopes to become a regional hub for international organizations.
The News Lens
Date: 2016/09/10
By: Don Shapiro
With backing from the central government, the central Taiwan city of Taichung is working on plans to
Photo Credit: Fcuk1203 CC BY SA 2.0
establish a facility to serve as the regional headquarters for international non-government organizations (NGOs) active in Southeast Asia. Announcing the project in July, Taichung Mayor Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) proposed that the center be located on currently unused property in the city’s Wufeng District once occupied by the now defunct Taiwan Provincial Assembly.
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) has praised the initiative, and Vice Premier Lin Hsi-yao (林錫耀) has been appointed to head a task force to coordinate the central government’s support. Part of the proposed site is under the control of the Legislative Yuan, which would need to approve transfer of the land.
In a press release, the Taichung city government cited three categories of international NGOs that would be particularly welcome in the new center: organizations devoted to promoting human rights and democracy such as Freedom House from the United States, those related to humanitarian and ecology-related causes such as Greenpeace and Doctors Without Borders, groups concerned with women’s rights and interests such as Women’s Campaign International. [FULL STORY]