At a brief ceremony held on Monday, June 8th, 2020, at the Embassy of Taiwan in Belize City, H.E. Remus Li-Kuo Chen, Taiwan’s Ambassador to Belize, handed over a donation of 10,000 face masks and 25 infrared forehead thermometers to Hon. Beverly Williams, Minister with responsibility for Immigration and Refugees. The donation will be used by officers of the Border Management and Immigration Services Department and the Nationality and Passports Department.
In his remarks during the ceremony, the Ambassador expressed high words of praise for the professionalism displayed by front line officers of the department in the conduct of their duties and also praised Belize for the successful management, to date, of the COVID-19 pandemic. He also highlighted that with a population of 23 million, there have only been seven deaths from the coronavirus in Taiwan with only six persons remaining in hospitals and receiving treatment.
Minister Williams expressed gratitude for the donations and spoke of the generosity of Taiwan towards Belize especially at this time of economic austerity. She congratulated Taiwan for the successful management of COVID-19. The Minister also made reference to the inaugural speech of Taiwan’s President during which she committed to strengthening ties and cooperation with Taiwan’s allies.
Present to witness the handing over were Mr. Edmund Zuniga, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry with responsibility for Immigration; Mr. Mario Arzu, Director of Nationality and Passports; and Mrs. Debra Baptist Estrada, Director of Border Management and Immigration Services.