Taiwan’s charities
台湾慈善事业
Help with a bow
躬身施人
May 29th 2008 | TAIPEI
From The Economist print edition
2008年5月29日 / 台北
《经济学人》印刷版
An unexpected bringer of relief in Myanmar and China
中缅两国的意外援者
Taiwan to the rescue
台湾伸出援手
THE natural disasters that recently befell Myanmar and China have tested the willingness of both stricken countries to let in foreign helpers. Western relief organisations are still waiting to see whether Myanmar’s armed forces meant what they said when they promised to let in all aid workers, regardless of nationality. China, though quick to accept money and material from the West, was slower to let in its people. But whereas Western do-gooders have queued for entry, volunteers from Taiwan’s non-governmental organisations (NGOs) received a warmer welcome. A chartered relief mission from Taipei, led by a Burmese-born Buddhist monk, was among the first to land in Yangon, Myanmar’s main city. In China, emergency workers from a Taiwanese foundation were among the first to reach Sichuan. This first-responder feat is all the more remarkable given the political impasse between China and Taiwan.
中 缅两国对境外援助的开放程度在近期的自然灾害中受到考验。缅甸军方曾保证将对所有国外援助人员放行，目前西方援助机构仍在等待缅方履行承诺。中国迅速接受 了西方的资金及物资援助，但对于人员援助的接受速度较慢。西方援助等待的同时，台湾非政府组织的志愿者却受到了两国的欢迎。一架从台北起飞的救援包机抵达 了缅甸主要城市仰光，此批援助由一位缅裔僧侣发起，这也是最早抵达缅甸的国外援助之一。在中国，来自台湾的救援人员也是最早抵达的境外援助之一。鉴于中国 大陆与台湾目前的政治僵局，双方的反应速度显得更为迅速。
Disaster relief plays to the strengths of Taiwan’s NGOs. They have plenty of experience coping with earthquakes and typhoons at home, and can mobilise legions of volunteers at short notice. Operating in a vibrant democracy that encourages civil society is also handy, as is the charitable impulse of many Taiwanese. This is often channelled into Buddhist philanthropy, which troubles receiving countries less than the proselytising zeal that comes attached to some brands of Christian charity. Paradoxically, Taiwan’s diplomatic isolation helps: its aid agencies can plead neutrality in countries such as Myanmar.
抢险救灾是台湾非政府组织的强项，他们在岛内积攒了大量地震 及台风灾后救助的经验，并且能在短时间内动员大量的志愿者。在这样一个鼓励公民社会发展的民主体内，许多台湾民众慈善参与意识强烈，因此采取行动也更为便 捷。台湾的慈善事业往往由佛教慈善团体所承担。相比起某些基督教慈善团体，佛教团体往往让受援国更为放心，不会担心这些团体会使其民众改变信仰。讽刺的 是，台湾在外交上的孤立也对此有所帮助：对于像缅甸这样的国家，台湾团体更能以中立身份出现。
The largest NGO in Taiwan—and by all accounts in the Chinese-speaking world—is the Tzu Chi Foundation, which has dozens of international chapters, around 10m supporters and annual donations of $300m. In Taiwan it runs hospitals, schools, a university, recycling centres and one of the world’s largest bone-marrow banks. It began overseas relief work in 1991, responding to flooding along China’s Yangzi river. Initially, its offer of help got a cool response from both sides of the Taiwan Strait. Critics at home asked why they wanted to aid “the enemy”. Eventually both sides relented, and China is now the biggest overseas recipient of Tzu Chi’s low-key largesse. Earlier this year, it finally got a licence to operate freely as a 100%-foreign NGO, a first for China, it claims.
台 湾最大的非政府组织——据称也是华语圈最大的——是慈济基金会，其旗下有数十家国际分支，赞助者达千万，每年募集善款近三千万美元。在台湾，基金会名下运 营着医院、中小学、一所大学、废品回收中心以及世界上最大的骨髓库。慈济于1991年首度进行境外活动，援助了中国长江沿岸的洪水灾区。慈济的援助行为起 初并未在两岸取得反响。台湾岛内批评者质问慈济为何要援助“敌国”。最终两岸均对慈济的善举放宽了限制。目前，中国大陆是慈济低调善行的最大境外受益者。 今年早些时候，慈济终于获得大陆的许可，可以作为纯境外组织在大陆自由运作。据慈济宣称，它也是首家获得大陆许可的境外非政府组织。
With projects in dozens of countries, Tzu Chi is starting to resemble its Western counterparts, except that its aid workers are trained volunteers who pay their own way to disaster zones. Master Cheng Yen, a Buddhist nun who founded the organisation in 1966, teaches that charitable givers must thank those they help in person, preferably with a bow. That is not just a wonderful bit of courtesy. It is also a way to make sure that aid reaches its recipients, rather than ending up in the hands of an unworthy government.
随着海外行为的增多，慈济与西方慈善机构也愈加相似，唯一的区别在于 慈济的义工都接受过专门培训，且都是自费前往灾区。慈济创建于1966年，其创始人名尼证严大师曾教导过，行善之人需躬身施人，以志谢意。这不但是一个莫 大的礼节，更能保证援助能直达受难者，而非断送在那些不堪的政府手中。
译者：houyhnhnm http://www.ecocn.org/forum/viewthread.php?tid=11734