Premier Mao Chi-kuo today attended the 2014 National Sustainable Development Awards Ceremony where 11 public and private organizations were honored for outstanding dedication and contributions to sustainable development.
"I hope the award winners will set examples for others in their fields by passing on sustainability practices and concepts. Making these ideals a reality in everyday life will make Taiwan a better place," he said.
Mao said that the three basic and essential pillars of government policy are environmental protection, economic development and social justice. Of these, environmental protection has the deepest impact, not only on this generation but on future ones as well. As these policies are not incompatible with the concepts of sustainable living, production or ecology, the government will work with the private sector to implement these concepts and promote Taiwan's sustainable development together.
Premier Mao also gave accounts of the contributions of the award recipients one by one. Several schools asserted their influence in the field of education, while other enterprises became models of corporate responsibility. Various environmental protection organizations enhanced community development. The Council of Agriculture restored terraced paddies and wetlands, and the Taiwan Area National Freeway Bureau (TANFB) contributed to ecological conservation along highways and roadways.
For 2014, the sustainable development awards were conferred in four categories. In education: Chinese Culture University in Taipei, Yong Fu Elementary School in Taoyuan, and Ruigan Elementary School in New Taipei City. In the corporate category: Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co., Ltd. and the Innolux Corp. In the civic category: Taiwan Environmental Information Association and the Taiwan Indigenous Tribes' Cultural and Educational Revitalization Foundation.
In the government category: the Forestry Bureau (Council of Agriculture) for a terraced paddies and wetlands ecosystem restoration project; the Department of Information and Technology Education (Ministry of Education) for a pioneering disaster prevention network on school campuses; the TANFB (Ministry of Transportation and Communications) for an eco-friendly freeway restoration project; and the Council of Indigenous Peoples for an indigenous community revitalization program.