National Parks of Taiwan

When Yushan National Park Headquarters heard that Itoigawa-shi (Geopark), with which it engages in exchange, was sheltering almost 6,000 people, mainly from Minamisōma-shi, after the March 11 earthquake struck eastern Japan, HQ staff signed and sent a “sympathy card” to the city’s mayor to show their concern and, in coordination with Taiwan’s Buddhist Light International Association and the NGO International Affairs committee of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, sent a large amount of disaster goods to the city, the goods arriving in early April.The city’s mayor sent the park HQ a personally signed letter expressing his gratitude for the donated goods, saying they will help give the people the strength to return to normal and rebuild.

Yushan National Park Headquarters said that Itoigawa-shi is Japan’s first Geopark. Last year, with the assistance of Ms Ami Kawasita, a Taiwanese who lives in Japan, last year the mayor was invited to lead a delegation on a visit to Yushan National Park and, in August, Yushan National Park ex-director Chen Long-sheng made a return visit to Japan at the head of a delegation from Taiwan, visiting the geopark’s various scenic spots and having a “two parks opinion exchange meeting” with the city’s mayor. Both parties felt that there are a number of similarities between the two parks and that cooperation should be strengthened. A larger Yushan National Park delegation’s planned visit to the geopark in May has been postponed because of the quake. The care shown by Yushan National Park Headquarters will, it is believed, help give the victims of the disasters the strength to rebuild.

Translated by：Kevin Lax
Source：Yushan National Park Headquarters