The International Cooperation and Development Fund (TaiwanICDF) has partnered with National Central University (NCU) to produce the 2023 “Taiwan’s allies from above” calendar of satellite image based on theme of “foreign assistance” by Taiwan for the first time. The press conference was held on December 7 this year (2022) at The Mayor’s Residence Art Salon. NCU President Jing-Yang Jou and TaiwanICDF Secretary General Amb.Timothy T. Y. Hsiang hosted the ceremony together, and the guests on the day included the guests from the diplomatic corps, TaiwanICDF’s partners, and members of the media.

The Center for Space and Remote Sensing Research (CSRSR) at NCU has started producing yearly calendars featuring satellite images under different topics since 1995. This year, the CSRSR partnered with TaiwanICDF and chose 13 examples of TaiwanICDF projects in allied countries as the theme for its calendar. It is hoped that the satellite images of allied countries’ territories will present a different perspective on how public-private partnership in Taiwan is helping Taiwan’s allies implement the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). 

NCU has long been an important partner for TaiwanICDF in international aid projects. In 2004, NCU even joined the TaiwanICDF “Taiwan International Cooperation Alliance (TICA)” as an allied university. TaiwanICDF and the CSRSR would go on to collaborate on the hosting of workshops for Geographic Information System (GIS) applications. Other collaborations since 2009 included the use of Taiwan’s FORMOSAT-2 satellite system and space remote sensing technology to conduct the “Capability Enhancement in Using Geographic Information System in Central America” and “Honduras Forest Pest Management Project.” The projects helped allies track their land use and changes to national land, conduct environmental monitoring and forest protection, and improved their ability to prevent and control disasters.

TaiwanICDF Secretary General Amb.Timothy T. Y. Hsiang said in his opening remark that on the eve of the 20th anniversary of the establishment of TICA, the TaiwanICDF and NCU jointly launched a calendar with the theme of foreign aid work, a testament to the solid collaboration and friendship between our two sides over many years and a very meaningful commemoration.

During his speech, NCU President Jing-Yang Jou noted that the CSRSR is involved in many aid projects in allied countries. This year, the CSRSR went the extra mile by working with TaiwanICDF to capture satellite images through the Pléiades very-high resolution satellite. A ground resolution of 50cm provides a crystal-clear picture of the topology in allied countries as well as the fruits of their friendship with Taiwan.

Andrea Bowman, Ambassador of the Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and the dean of the diplomatic corps., said in her address that this title, ‘Taiwan’s Allies From Above’, offers insight and foresight with regard to the global perspective and the geographical reach of Taiwan’s allies. The satellite images allow us to view the global outreach of Taiwan which is indicated by the allies’ literal geographical spread from West to East. What Taiwan experiences with its allies is far more than companionship. This is brotherhood and sisterhood, this is partnership par excellence where we are our brothers’ and our sisters’ keepers.

The 2023 “Taiwan’s allies from above” calendar will give the public a guided tour of our allies’ beautiful landscape from space. At the same time, the calendar will also show all the hard work and results produced by TaiwanICDF’s partnership with private-sector resources on international aid projects.

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• Update: 2022/12/26
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