TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Liu Shih-chung (劉世忠), Taiwan’s representative to Hungary, donated US$150,000 (NT$4.46 million) to Hungary’s capital city, Budapest, on behalf of the Taiwan government to help Ukrainian refugees in the European nation.
Liu signed an agreement with Budapest City Government at the city hall to finalize the donation at a ceremony on Monday (July 4), according to a Taiwan Economic and Cultural Office in Hungary Facebook post. He said Taiwanese can feel the threat of being invaded by a powerful enemy.
In addition to praying for the Russia-Ukraine war to end as soon as possible, Taiwanese have also supported Ukraine with practical actions, Liu said. So far, they have donated more than US$20 million to Ukraine and neighboring countries.
Budapest Mayor Gergely Karacsony thanked the Taiwan government and its people for their kindness in his speech, promising to use the donations to improve the quality of refugees' accommodation, food, and legal counseling.
Many Taiwanese legislators, including Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Lin Chu-yin (林楚茵), president of the Taiwan-Hungarian Parliamentary Friendship Group, were also invited to attend the ceremony. Lin, who is in Hungary on a Legislative Yuan delegation visit, and the other legislators said that Taiwan and Budapest are like-minded partners that share the universal values of democracy, human rights, and peace, and have boundless potential for future cooperation.
Lin thanked Karacsony for supporting Taiwan's participation in the World Health Assembly and invited him to visit Taiwan.
The mayor responded that he looks forward to visiting Taiwan in the future.
According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, since the outbreak of the Russia-Ukraine war, 650,000 Ukrainian refugees have entered Hungary. Most of them continue on to Western or Southern Europe, but approximately 100,000 to 140,000 are temporarily living in Hungary.
In May, Taiwan donated US$1.5 million to the Hungarian Interchurch Aid, which focuses on helping Ukrainian refugees in Hungary.
