When 13-year-old Taiwanese American MeiJade Hsu saw television reports of the devastation caused in the Philippines by Typhoon Haiyan, she was determined to help.
MeiJade began fundraising in the Taiwanese American community and made a stirring speech appealing for donations at the Thanksgiving banquet of the Taiwanese Association of America’s Greater Washington Chapter last month.
She visited the Philippine embassy in Washington on Monday to present a check for the money she had raised — US$17,430 — to Philippine Ambassador Jose Cuisia.
Photo: William Lowther, Taipei Times
“I cannot thank you enough for what you are doing to help our suffering countrymen in the Philippines,” Cuisia said.
A small delegation of Taiwanese Americans led by Formosan Association for Public Affairs president Mark Kao (高龍榮) accompanied MeiJade to the embassy.
“When the super typhoon hit the Philippines, Taiwanese Americans knew they had to do something and MeiJade led the way,” Kao said.
“Our whole community knew that the Philippines needed help and we wanted to work with you as an ally,” he said. “We hope this will be the first step to building a cooperative relationship between Taiwanese Americans and the Philippines,” he said.
“If there is ever any obstacle to the relationship between the Philippines and Taiwan, we are here to help you remove it,” he said.
Speaking to the ambassador with all the confidence of a seasoned diplomat, MeiJade said: “A few weeks ago when Super Typhoon Haiyan smacked into the Philippines, I saw so many images of total destruction on the news.”
“I was so shocked when I saw children with no home or food. It was a massive and ferocious storm,” she said.
MeiJade, who lives in suburban Washington, said it was “terrifying” just to imagine the suffering.
“I started to think what I could do to help the relief effort,” she said. “I decided to campaign in my own local Taiwanese American community so that we could all help and donate together.”
“Here in the capital of the US, where many people of all ethnicities have all they want and never experience natural disasters like a super typhoon, it is our job to support those who are not as fortunate,” she said. “I talked it over with my parents. Taiwan is a neighbor of the Philippines and as good neighbors we should help each other.”
MeiJade said she had also discovered that Taiwan’s Aborigines had ancient links with some people in the Philippines and shared cultural traditions.
“My mom is of Taiwanese Aboriginal ancestry and so I feel even more connected to the Philippines,” she said. “I hope to give the children in the disaster zone a ray of hope and love.
“As a member of the younger generation I know that in 10 or 20 years it will be our job to take care of this world and bring more peace and prosperity to it,” she said.
Cuisia praised MeiJade’s eloquence and poise.
“The enormity of the devastation caused by the typhoon is unimaginable,” he said.
“The biggest challenge would be to reconstruct and rebuild, and not just buildings, but also lives because many farmers and fishermen had lost everything,” he said.
“Many will suffer for years ahead, but the Philippine people are resilient,” he said. “It is very important that people like MeiJade are giving them hope. She is an intelligent girl and her parents can be very proud.”
Hong Kong-based American singer-songwriter Khalil Fong (方大同) has passed away at the age of 41, Fong’s record label confirmed yesterday. “With unwavering optimism in the face of a relentless illness for five years, Khalil Fong gently and gracefully bid farewell to this world on the morning of February 21, 2025, stepping into the next realm of existence to carry forward his purpose and dreams,” Fu Music wrote on the company’s official Facebook page. “The music and graphic novels he gifted to the world remain an eternal testament to his luminous spirit, a timeless treasure for generations to come,” it said. Although Fong’s
China’s military buildup in the southern portion of the first island chain poses a serious threat to Taiwan’s liquefied natural gas (LNG) supply, a defense analyst warned. Writing in a bulletin on the National Defense and Security Research’s Web site on Thursday, Huang Tsung-ting (黃宗鼎) said that China might choke off Taiwan’s energy supply without it. Beginning last year, China entrenched its position in the southern region of the first island chain, often with Russia’s active support, he said. In May of the same year, a Chinese People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN) force consisting of a Type 054A destroyer, Type 055 destroyer,
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was questioned by prosecutors for allegedly orchestrating an attack on a taxi driver after he was allegedly driven on a longer than necessary route in a car he disliked. The questioning at the New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office was ongoing as of press time last night. Police have recommended charges of attempted murder. The legally embattled actor — known for his role in the coming-of-age film Our Times (我的少女時代) — is under a separate investigation for allegedly using fake medical documents to evade mandatory military service. According to local media reports, police said Wang earlier last year ordered a
Taiwan is planning to expand the use of artificial intelligence (AI)-based X-ray imaging to customs clearance points over the next four years to curb the smuggling of contraband, a Customs Administration official said. The official on condition of anonymity said the plan would cover meat products, e-cigarettes and heated tobacco products, large bundles of banknotes and certain agricultural produce. Taiwan began using AI image recognition systems in July 2021. This year, generative AI — a subset of AI which uses generative models to produce data — would be used to train AI models to produce realistic X-ray images of contraband, the official
RSS