Taiwan Today

For decades, Taiwan received economic aid from foreign charities. Now buoyed by the island's prosperity, several local nonprofit groups have reversed roles and are sending their own donations to needy areas overseas. In the midst of the 1992 Los Angeles riots, when tensions between Asians and blacks were high, a Chinese woman was stopped by a group of African-Americans in down town L.A. One black youth asked her: "Are you Korean, Japanese, or Chinese?" The woman answered: "Chinese." The group then showed her a safe way out of the neighborhood. The woman had no idea why she was allowed to leave unhurt. A few days later, her black housekeeper explained that many African-Americans in L.A. know of a Chinese nonprofit group called the Tzu Chi Buddhist Charity Foundation (慈濟功德會). The foundation's scholarships and financial aid programs have helped many poor blacks, giving the Chinese in the area a good reputation among African-Americans. The story, reported to the local press by Tzu Chi foundation, not only illustrates the unexpected benefits of charity work but shows that Taiwan has made a 180-degree shift, from aid recipient to aid provider. From the 1950s to the 1970s, the island received regular contributions from many overseas nonprofit groups, especially those based in the United States. But after two decades of mounting economic success, a growing number of Taiwan-based private charities are repaying old favors by sending financial aid to poverty-stricken areas overseas. The Tzu Chi foundation, with 3.2 million members, is the largest. It has branch offices in the United States, Canada, and Japan, and twenty small field offices worldwide. Other local charities include World Vision of Taiwan, with 164 staff members, and the Chinese Children's Fund, with a staff of 330 social workers. World Vision and the Chinese Children's Fund both began as branches of U.S.-based nonprofit groups and were originally funded with overseas money. Mainland China has been a primary target for Taiwan charities. During 1991 and 1992, Anhwei, Kiangsu, and Honan provinces suffered serious flooding. The Tzu Chi foundation raised NT$300 million (US$11.5 million) for flood victims, then sent teams of volunteers to the mainland to build three thousand houses, eleven schools, and several retirement homes, and to deliver some 61,000 items of clothing and 35,000 blankets. Volunteers from World Vision of Taiwan built five hundred houses, thirteen schools, and thirteen medical clinics in Anhwei province. The flood-relief program has garnered impressive support in Taiwan, despite some objections to sending aid to mainland China because of political differences. When the Tzu Chi foundation held a fund-raising charity sale in Taipei in December 1991, local manufacturers and individuals donated enough goods to raise NT$80 million (US$3.1 million). Many of the volunteers who delivered the aid packages across the Taiwan Straits say the program is beneficial for givers as well as receivers. "People are so poo rthere," says Hsu Yu-chai (許玉摘), a Tzu Chi member who has volunteered in mainland China more than ten times. "In one place, where temperatures had dropped below zero, I remember seeing ·an old man wearing ten layers of clothing. But none of his clothes had buttons. He used a rope to fasten them. He was still freezing cold." Hsu stresses that the visits have made her value the comforts of life in Taiwan. "After seeing the living conditions of those people, we feel that life in Taiwan is heaven," Hsu says. "I used to complain that some people can afford to live in a big townhouse while I can only afford a small condominium. But now, I don't complain any more. I am satisfied with what I have." Local charities have also targeted countries in the former Soviet Union and regions of Africa that are suffering from drought and famine. Since 1990, an annual Thirty-Hour Famine campaign held by World Vision of Taiwan has raised a total of NT$280 million (US$10.7 million) and has set up thirty-four relief programs in eleven African countries. Projects include building an emergency food and health care center in Somalia and reforestation work in Ethiopia. The Thirty-Hour Famine, which asks participants to fast for thirty hours to experience the sufferings of the hungry, has gained increasing support islandwide. This year, the event drew 100,000 volunteers ranging in age from seven to seventy. Many made generous contributions. A few housewives even took off their gold rings and donated them. "People here are very generous," says Jerry Chang (張翹林), executive director of World Vision. He explains that fund-raising jumped substantially this year. World Vision's goal for 1993 was to raise NT$100 million (US$3.8 million); as of June, the association had secured NT$130 million (US$5 million). For older residents, seeing Taiwan contribute to overseas charities marks a dramatic change. "In the 1960s and 1970s, we received lots of donations from foreign church groups," says Taipei resident Liu Shu-fan (劉樹範), 82. "I remember people lined up in front of local churches to get blankets, clothes, milk powder, cooking oil, flour, and canned meat. It helped a lot, since materials were scarce in those days." But with the rapid growth in Taiwan's economy during the 1970s and 1980s, the local need for charity contributions diminished steadily. During the last decade, private charities began a gradual reversal of roles, from receiving foreign aid to providing it. Actually, on a government level, the ROC has been sending technological aid overseas for three decades. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs began sending low-cost technical cooperation missions to developing countries in the 1960s, in part for diplomatic reasons. These programs primarily helped developing countries to upgrade their agriculture and fisheries industries and improve medical services. In following years, the ROC government also began sending economic aid overseas. Today, the government supports forty-four technological cooperation operations in Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Central and South America, and supplies foreign countries with financial aid, low-interest loans, and occasional donations of food and necessities. In 1992, the ROC government donated 100,000 tons of rice to Russia, and offered US$10 million in medicine and other necessities to Ukraine and Belarus. Private charity groups did not begin sending aid overseas until the mid 1980s. In fact, many of the nonprofit organizations now providing aid overseas have a long history of receiving foreign donations. World Vision of Taiwan, which was founded in 1964 to improve the lives of villagers in the island's mountain areas, received foreign aid for twenty-seven years. In 1984, the branch began raising funds locally. By 1992, the status of the Taiwan branch was changed from a field office funded by the main branch to a self sufficient support office. That year, using 100 percent local funding, the association assisted six thousand needy local children and five thousand poor youngsters from twelve foreign countries. "We used to rely on other countries, but now Taiwan is no longer a poor country," says Jerry Chang of World Vision. "In fact, Taiwan is an affluent society. It's time for us to pay something back." This year, the federation is expected to raise US$12 million and it plans to send 40 percent of its income abroad. "In terms of the money raised, Taiwan ranked fourth among the [sixteen support] branches of World Vision International, after the United States, Canada, and Australia," Chang says. "Local people are willing to give. We should be proud of that." Taiwan charities are gaining an international reputation, and some foreign interest groups have begun approaching the island for financial aid. In August 1992, the president of the Mongolian Red Cross Society visited the island to seek aid from the Tzu Chi foundation. Since the break up of the Soviet Union in 1991, Mongolia has not received any financial support from the Russian Federation and it is in serious need of food and basic necessities. In response to requests from the Mongolian Red Cross Society, Tzu Chi sent US$400,000 in blankets, winter clothes, and other goods last year. Taiwan-based President Enterprises Corp. also contributed a container load of milk powder. Delivering aid to foreign countries has in some instances been challenging. "Collecting the money in Taiwan was the easy part; distributing the goods in Mongolia was the hard part," says Walter Huang (黃華德), who traveled with the foundation four times to oversee the project. When World Vision began its aid project last year, Mongolia was facing an emergency, Huang says. Winter was approaching and foundation volunteers had to rush in with their supplies. "Originally we planned to send them by train, which could have taken weeks," he says. "To save time, we sent them by air. I had to negotiate with the airlines, customs, and transportation services to get them to handle our cargo right away." After the shipment arrived, Huang made a final visit to check on the distribution of goods. "Our policy is to send the aid to the exact persons who need it," he says. "Tzu Chi never commissions other organizations to do its work. Everything has to be done ourselves." Another difficulty is that private charity groups have encountered some opposition to their overseas aid programs from Taiwan residents. Initially, Tzu Chi's plans to raise money for flood-relief work in mainland China drew some objections. Says volunteer Hsu Yu-chai, "People wrote letters and called Tzu Chi to argue that because mainland China has never renounced the use of force against Taiwan, we should not give aid to them." Some local people want their donations to remain within Taiwan, according to Charles Kuo (郭東曜), national director of the Chinese Children's Fund. Founded locally in the 1950s to support poor children, the agency relied mainly on overseas aid until the mid-1980s. In 1985, it became self-sufficient, and today the fund sponsors about 23,000 Taiwan children and 6,800 foreign youngsters. Organizers are now encouraging contributors to help foreign children, because the demand among local kids has largely been met. "We write letters telling contributors that if they want to sponsor a local child they have to wait, but there are lots of foreign children waiting for help," Kuo says. "But only one in ten is willing to sponsor a foreign child. The rest prefer to wait to help local ones. Some people even request that the sponsored children live in the same city so they can visit them. Others require that the children be cute and smart." Despite some social obstacles, foreign aid projects are gaining popularity even among unlikely supporters. A businessman in the garment manufacturing industry for twenty years, Tzu Chi volunteer Walter Huang explains how he grew to respect charities doing overseas work. "In the past, my main concern was figuring out how to make a profit in various situations," Huang says. Although his wife regularly donated money to the group, Huang did not get involved until last winter. Even when he agreed to oversee the distribution of food and supplies to Mongolia last winter, Huang admits that he initially did not have an altruistic mindset. "Frankly speaking, the motive for me to go to Mongolia was first to see whether there were any business opportunities, then to do the charity work," he says. "But the more I got involved, the more deeply I was moved. Doing volunteer work face to face with people, I felt the pleasure of giving. The spiritual reward I got outweighed the money and time I spent." •