Taiwan government releases long-awaited white paper on foreign aid policy

Taipei, Dec. 13 (CNA) The Taiwan government last week released a long-awaited foreign aid policy white paper highlighting the efforts and achievements of the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) since it came into power in May 2016.

The white paper -- the first since the last edition was published 14 years ago by the Kuomintang (KMT) administration -- released on Dec. 7, ditched the use of the term "foreign aid" employed by the KMT government and replaced it with "international development cooperation."

President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said in the white paper's foreword that this switch represents her administration's focus on "mutually beneficial/supportive" relationships with the people and countries Taiwan is working with.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said in a press release that the nearly 200-page-long "international development cooperation" document details how the government has been working with like-minded countries and diplomatic allies to invest in mutually beneficial programs to tackle challenges such as the COVID-19 pandemic and global warming.

The white paper also lists the Taiwan government's support for Ukraine in the wake of Russia's invasion in February 2022.

More than US$40 million and 600 tons of necessities including medical supplies have been donated, according to the paper.

The paper was released amid a years-long call by both the ruling DPP and opposition KMT lawmakers.

DPP Legislator and former head of the party's international affairs office Lo Chih-cheng (羅致政) had criticized MOFA for not releasing the paper sooner, saying doing so could help make the DPP's stance on such matters clearer.

Foreign Minister Joseph Wu (吳釗燮), asked to comment on the delay, told Lo on May 10 in the Legislature that multiple government branches were involved in the creation of the document.

During that May 10 National Defense and Foreign Affairs Committee session, lawmakers also passed a non-binding resolution calling on MOFA to raise Taiwan's foreign aid or official development assistance (ODA) budget.

Taiwan spent only around 0.04 percent of its Gross National Income (GNI) on ODA in 2021, far less than the 0.7 percent target suggested by the United Nations, according to lawmakers.

In 2021, Japan allocated 0.3 percent of its GNI, South Korea, 0.16 percent, and Australia 0.22 percent to ODA.