TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan has donated 150,000 masks to the central Brazilian state of Goais to assist the region in combating the pandemic.

Taiwan’s envoy to Brazil Chang Chung-che (張崇哲) on July 16 presided over a mask donation ceremony attended by the state governor’s wife Gracinha Caiado, Deputy Governor Lincoln Tejota, 30 staff members, as well as representatives of the state government group Organizacao das Voluntarias de Goias, CNA reported.

Chang delivered a speech saying that since the outbreak of COVID-19, Taiwan’s pandemic prevention measures have garnered praise from the international community. He noted that in 2020, Taiwan donated 54 million masks to more than 80 countries around the world, including Brazil, which showed that "Taiwan can help."

The Taiwanese representative added that just as Taiwan is called the "heart of Asia," so too Goias is known as the "heart of Latin America." The donation represents the kind and cooperative spirit between the people of the two countries, he said. Taiwan gifted 70,000 masks to the central Brazilian state last year, during the height of the pandemic.

Meanwhile, Caiado thanked Taiwan for its donation and said that the East Asian nation’s spirit of helping others in the same predicament is touching. She said that she hopes the two countries will “continue to believe in each other and work together.” The masks will be given to disadvantaged Goias residents.