TaiwanICDF Statement

In response to the World Bank's recent demand that our official designation and logo be altered from "TaiwanICDF" to "Chinese Taipei ICDF" in an advertisement that was to run in the autumn 2006 issue of the World Bank publication Perspectives on Development, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) feels compelled to lodge a formal protest and, to this end, issues the following statement:

We, the TaiwanICDF, strenuously object to the World Bank's decision to alter our official designation and logo in an advertisement that was to run in the autumn issue of the World Bank publication Perspectives on Development. Having negotiated terms over a period of many months and finally reached a formal agreement over the proposed advertisement with the World Bank's authorized publisher, we were dismayed to discover the World Bank had summarily ordered our official designation and logo be altered from "TaiwanICDF" to "Chinese Taipei ICDF." These unannounced and hitherto unexplained changes are completely unacceptable to the TaiwanICDF; hence we lodge this formal protest.

The TaiwanICDF objects to changes made to the advertisement for two main reasons:
1) The World Bank's demand that "Chinese Taipei" be used in place of "Taiwan" amounts to discrimination against both the TaiwanICDF and the people of Taiwan and denies them recognition for their contributions in the arena of international aid and development.
2) The TaiwanICDF is not, and never has been, known as the Chinese Taipei ICDF, so the use of this appellation is simply incorrect.

What makes the World Bank's conduct in this case all the more upsetting is the fact that the TaiwanICDF shares many goals and ideals with international development agencies like the World Bank. As Taiwan's premier development institution, the TaiwanICDF has committed itself to sharing the "Taiwan Experience" with the world to promote humanitarian values, foster sustainable development, and increase global prosperity. The TaiwanICDF hopes to enjoy fruitful relationships with international organizations such as the World Bank in the future but cannot countenance the indignity that this incident constitutes.

Therefore, the TaiwanICDF would like to express its unequivocal condemnation of the World Bank's unjust conduct in this case, which is tantamount to ignoring not only the contributions of the TaiwanICDF but also those of Taiwan's 23 million citizens. The TaiwanICDF also requests an explanation from the World Bank as to why it felt obliged to demand the aforementioned changes.

• Update: 2018/03/01
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