Masks Donations

Two years ago, as the US and the entire world had been actively fighting a global pandemic, Taiwan was one of the first countries to mobilize and scale up the production of protective face masks through public and private partnerships. The Friends of Taiwan Foundation quickly procured and donated over 1 million surgical masks to the States of Illinois, Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, as well as various medical facilities and small businesses. 

As shown in the photo below, ex-Director General Eric Huang of Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Chicago (TECO) and US Representative Danny Davis from Illinois jointly witnessed the arrival of the Taiwan-donated surgical masks in the United Center on the evening of April 20, 2020. Representative Davis expressed his appreciation to Taiwan and encouraged the international community to continue the joint fight against the pandemic. In addition, elected officials at the federal level in these four states mentioned above including US Representatives Mike Bost, Adam Kinzinger, and Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, Jim Banks of Indiana, Brenda Lawrence of Michigan, Steve Chabot, and Bob Gibbs of Ohio, expressed their appreciation of Taiwan’s mask donation through their official Twitter accounts.

Chicago Alderman Byron Sigcho-Lopez also witnessed the donation. Chicago is the third largest city in the US and was severely impacted by the coronavirus. The Friends of Taiwan Foundation donated these surgical masks to help protect the frontline healthcare workers in Chicago and the state of Illinois.