December 1, 2023
No. 416
The Russia-Ukraine war has devastated Ukrainian society. In the spirit of humanitarianism, Amb. Ke Liang-ruey, Representative of the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Prague, and David Steinke, Representative of the Czech Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, signed a memorandum of understanding on establishing a partnership to help rebuild Ukraine’s primary healthcare capacity. Under the MOU signed during a videoconference on December 1, Taiwan and the Czech Republic will work together to assist Ukraine in rebuilding its primary healthcare system. Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang and Director of Economic and Science Diplomacy Marek Svoboda at the Czech Ministry of Foreign Affairs witnessed the signing. They were joined via videoconference by Czech Governmental Envoy for the Reconstruction of Ukraine Tomáš Kopečný.
In his remarks, Deputy Minister Tien said the joint project by Taiwan and the Czech Republic to assist Ukraine was an outstanding example of how democratic nations were standing together against authoritarian threats. He stressed that the project once again underscored the firm commitment of the democratic community to support Ukraine and continue to provide it with humanitarian assistance, while demonstrating the effectiveness of cooperation between the medical device industries of Taiwan and the Czech Republic.
Envoy Kopečný and Director Svoboda reiterated that both the Czech Republic and Taiwan were free democracies and had pledged to work together to counter authoritarianism. Emphasizing that the signing ceremony was made possible after months of communication and effort by the two countries, they observed that the collaboration had allowed the Czech Republic and Ukraine to better recognize Taiwan’s economic strengths and technological prowess. Representative Steinke thanked all sectors of Taiwan for their consideration for Ukraine and looked forward to closer cooperation with Taiwan in more domains in the future.
Representative of the Ukrainian community in Taiwan Yurii Poita was also invited to attend. He thanked Taiwan and the Czech Republic for their joint endeavors to assist Ukraine. Mr. Poita emphasized that Taiwan’s provision of humanitarian assistance to Ukraine despite the distance separating them had made the Ukrainian people aware of Taiwan’s enormous strength despite its small size. He added that there was much room for cooperation between Taiwan and Ukraine in the areas of smart technology, energy, and semiconductors, and that he hoped to see more exchanges and interactions between the two countries.
This newest instance of Taiwan-Czech collaboration will focus on the most heavily devastated eastern part of Ukraine. The governments of Taiwan and the Czech Republic will provide support with respect to facilities and primary healthcare services in the fields of general, surgical, gynecological, and rehabilitation medicine. The medical products and solutions needed for the project will generate opportunities for Taiwanese industry and raise understanding of Taiwan’s medical standards and capacities in Ukraine and other countries. (E)