TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — People in Taiwan have donated more than NT$100 million (US$3.56 million) to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) Ukrainian refugee fund in less than 48 hours, the Relieve Disaster Foundation said in a press release on Friday (March 4).
As of 8 a.m. on Friday, the foundation had received NT$102.9 million, including NT$83.79 million in its bank account dedicated to the cause and NT$19.11 million on its online payment platform. The foundation had also received several calls from the public expressing support and an intention to rally more people to join.
One netizen posted on social media that his or her father, who is over 80 years of age, went out specifically to make a donation in person at a bank after writing down the donation account number he saw on the news, according to the Relieve Disaster Foundation. “The benevolent support truly made us feel the precious kindness of Taiwanese that sees no boundary,” the foundation wrote.
MOFA announced on Wednesday (March 2) that, in the spirit of “Taiwan Can Help,” it had set up the account to accept public donations to Ukrainians. Earlier that day, President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said she, Vice President William Lai Ching-te (賴清德), and Premier Su Tseng-chang (蘇貞昌) would each donate one month of their income.
MOFA said the Taipei Representative Office in Poland would contact the Polish government and a non-governmental organization of its choosing to deliver the donations as soon as possible in order to help Ukrainian refugees.
The Relieve Disaster Foundation is still accepting donations through its online platform or the relief fund bank account:
Account name: Relieve Disaster Foundation (財團法人賑災基金會)
Bank name: Land Bank of Taiwan (005) (土地銀行 長春分行)
Account number: 102-005-124-619
Updates on donation details can be found on the foundation’s website at https://www.rel.org.tw/Page?itemid=46&mid=102
