In 1964, when the World Bank issued a recruitment advertisement in the US drawing about 3,000 applicants, then 28-year-old Taiwanese attorney Loh Ping-cheung (
Starting as an attorney for the World Bank, Loh climbed the corporate ladder to fill positions like assistant director of the bank's east and southern African projects department, as well as country director for various nations in Central and South America.
His last post with the World Bank before retiring in 1996 was as senior advisor to the regional vice president for Latin America and the Caribbean.
PHOTO: CHEN CHENG-CHANG
In fact, it is Loh's decades-long expertise in foreign aid that lured the foreign ministry in 1996 to invite him to work as the secretary general of the newly founded International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF), Taiwan's principal body overseeing foreign aid under the supervision of the foreign ministry.
But when the 65-year-old resigned on June 19, a year before the end of his second three-year term, many looked upon his departure with sadness.
"We feel a bit upset. The departure of such a wonderful man is a loss not only to the ICDF but also to our country," said Lee Pai-po (
Seen by some insiders as Taiwan's top expert on foreign aid, Loh has impressed his ICDF colleagues with his ability to grasp the essence of issues, his good connections with international institutions and his command of foreign languages.
When Loh came on board, he was able to quickly grasp the essence of some 30 to 40 years of operations by Taiwan's overseas technical missions, Lee said.
"While it may take one year for others to understand these operations, it took him only three to five days ... He was able to see the strengths and weaknesses of these operations and offered ways of improvement. If it wasn't for his accumulated experience, he would not have been able to do so," Lee said.
Loh became a US resident 30 years ago. He began to learn Spanish at the age of 50 and is close to mastering both English and Spanish fluently, according to sources close to him. In addition to these skills Loh also had excellent connections with various international institutions such as the Inter-American Development Bank and European Bank for Reconstruction and Development. These connections were built up during his work experience with the World Bank.
"Some participants in various international conferences may ignore the Taiwanese representative because Taiwan is not a member of the UN. But others treated Loh as their equal ... He's indeed an individual of rare caliber in Taiwan," Lee added.
Despite his widely-recognized performance in leading the ICDF, some criticized Loh's personality, saying that he is stubborn and confrontational.
"I rather admire this man because he's scrupulous and methodical in doing his work. But sometimes he's overly persistent in his opinions and was too ferocious when criticizing others," a Taiwanese diplomat currently posted in an Eastern European country told the Taipei Times under condition of anonymity.
"He's rather unbending and stubborn. But you know, as far as the trade of diplomacy is concerned, sometimes one should know when to advance and when to retreat," the veteran diplomat added.
Ko Yu-chin (
When asked to respond to Ko's comment, Loh said: "I am simply not tactful enough in dealing with others."
"I am not at the same level as those who have a problem with me. I am above that," Loh said.
Lee said others "misunderstood" Loh in this regard. He said Loh perhaps "raised his voice" in some meetings with foreign ministry officials, claiming some reports might "exaggerate" the actual situation at these meetings.
Others, however, singled out the longstanding dissonance between Loh and the foreign ministry over foreign aid operations as the main cause of his resignation.
"The relations between Loh and the foreign ministry have not been very congenial," said Fan Yang-shang (范揚盛), Convener of the Foreign Affairs Committee at the Legislative Yuan, based on his observations on related meetings on foreign-aid programs.
Lee denounced the media's portrait of the "conflict" between Loh and the foreign ministry, saying: "This is not a conflict. It's a question of ideas and methodology."
While the ICDF's golden rule is that each non-confidential foreign aid operation must follow the "project cycle" that includes five-phased procedures such as identification, preparation, negotiation, implementation and evaluation, the foreign ministry sometimes thinks otherwise, Lee said.
"Taiwan's foreign ministry is different from other international institutions. It shoulders an enormous burden to sustain diplomatic ties with its limited allies. So, in times of urgency, the ICDF is forced to skip these procedures," admitted Lee.
Even when some of these procedures were followed, the foreign ministry did not necessarily follow the recommendations made by the ICDF's feasibility studies.
For instance, when the ICDF concluded after a feasibility study of the Skopje Free Economic Zone that Taiwan should not implement the project because the idea "would enjoy no market," the ministry still went ahead with the scheme as part of its effort to sustain ties with Macedonia.
The veteran diplomat said that, although some foreign ministry officials agreed with Loh in conducting feasibility studies before foreign aid programs are implemented, the reality of Taiwan's limited international space may at times make this professional practice a luxury.
Even so, the veteran development expert plans to be on the move soon after his retirement, saying: "Some of my friends in Latin America have already invited me to work as their personal advisor."
CREDIT-GRABBER: China said its coast guard rescued the crew of a fishing vessel that caught fire, who were actually rescued by a nearby Taiwanese boat and the CGA Maritime search and rescue operations do not have borders, and China should not use a shipwreck to infringe upon Taiwanese sovereignty, the Coast Guard Administration (CGA) said yesterday. The coast guard made the statement in response to the China Coast Guard (CCG) saying it saved a Taiwanese fishing boat. The Chuan Yu No. 6 (全漁6號), a fishing vessel registered in Keelung, on Thursday caught fire and sank in waters northeast of Diaoyutai Islands (釣魚台). The vessel left Keelung’s Badouzih Fishing Harbor (八斗子漁港) at 3:35pm on Sunday last week, with seven people on board — a 62-year-old Taiwanese captain surnamed Chang (張) and six
LEVERAGE: China did not ‘need to fire a shot’ to deny Taiwan airspace over Africa when it owns ‘half the continent’s debt,’ a US official said, calling it economic warfare The EU has raised concerns about overflight rights following the delay of President William Lai’s (賴清德) planned state visit to the Kingdom of Eswatini after three African nations denied overflight clearance for his charter at the last minute. Taiwanese allies Paraguay and Saint Kitts and Nevis, as well as several US lawmakers and the Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC) condemned China for allegedly pressuring the countries. Lai was scheduled to fly directly to Taiwan’s only African ally from yesterday to Sunday to celebrate the 40th anniversary of King Mswati III’s accession and his 58th birthday, but Seychelles, Mauritius and Madagascar suddenly revoked
RISKY BUSINESS: The ‘incentives’ include initiatives that get suspended for no reason, creating uncertainty and resulting in considerable losses for Taiwanese, the MAC said China’s “incentives” failed to sway sentiment in Taiwan, as willingness to work in China hit a record low of 1.6 percent, a Ministry of Labor survey showed. The Directorate-General of Budget, Accounting and Statistics (DGBAS) also reported that the number of Taiwanese workers in China has nearly halved from a peak of 430,000 in 2012 to an estimated 231,000 in 2024. That marked a new low in the proportion of Taiwanese going abroad to work. The ministry’s annual survey on “Labor Life and Employment Status” includes questions respondents’ willingness to seek employment overseas. Willingness to work in China has steadily declined from
The number of pet cats in Taiwan surpassed that of pet dogs for the first time last year, reaching 1,742,033, a 32.8 percent increase from 2023, the Ministry of Agriculture said yesterday, citing a survey. By contrast, the number of pet dogs declined slightly by 1.2 percent over the same period to 1,462,528, the ministry said. Despite the shift, households with dogs still slightly outnumber those with cats by 1.2 percent. However, while the number of households with multiple dogs has remained relatively stable, households keeping more than two cats have increased, contributing to the overall rise in the feline population. The trend
RSS