Docs Without Borders Berates Israel's Office in Taipei.
Performative Protesting and/or LARPing?
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21 June 2025 (Saturday)
Docs Without Borders Berates Israel's Office in Taipei.
Performative Protesting and/or LARPing?
By Wendell Minnick (Whiskey Mike) 顏文德
TAIPEI -Taiwan’s Central News Agency (CNA) ran a report on 21 June that the Taiwan branch of Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières, Msf) on 20 June called for an end to the blockade of Gaza and urged Israel to stop using humanitarian aid as a tool of war. In response, the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei (駐台北以色列經濟文化辦事處/ISECO) asserted that essential supplies are “continuously entering the Gaza Strip.”
At a press event in Taipei, around 20 Msf participants chanted, “Aid is not a weapon, stop the blockade of Gaza!” Organized near the ISECO — the de facto Israeli embassy.
“Our Msf team in Gaza has witnessed signs of ethnic cleansing, the killing of humanitarian workers, and the bombing of medical facilities and shelters,” said Ludivine Houdet (鄔荻芳), executive director of Msf Taiwan. “The blockade has cut access to food, water, and essential medicine.”
[Editor’s note: Houdet has an extensive background in human rights NGOs. However, it is unclear why a non-Taiwanese individual currently leads Msf Taipei. In a nation of just 24 million people, it is also uncertain what impact her protest might have—especially given Taiwan’s lack of formal diplomatic recognition.]
Houdet noted that since the war in Gaza began in October 2023, Msf has been forced to withdraw from more than 20 health facilities due to escalating violence. The organization has also recorded 50 violent incidents, including the deaths of eleven Msf staff members.
[Editor’s Note: She’s a Staff Salaried member of the organization, not a volunteer. The way up in NGOs today is fundraising credentials and LARPing for the news media. Her fundraising creds were established in South Africa before they sent her here. She is trying to establish herself for the next career move. She’s been here 5 years, and that’s a long time for a backwater in the diplomatic arena. If she’s successful, she’ll be moving on to the next position. If not, she’ll probably jump ship and join another NGO. DC is full of this kind of NGO math. 3-5 years then you make your move. If you are in the same posting beyond that time, you are out on your ass.
You have to hang out with DC NGO folks to realize it’s a money laundering operation. Everyone with an NGO card has a board of directors who are spouses or even friends of a senior politician. You do not bribe politicians directly, you hire their family members or friends as payment. The board meets up normally every quarter. When they lose power, they are ousted. In Britain it’s the exact same thing. With EU, I assume it’s outrageous, though I’ve not really looked into their operations. They will take the side of cannibals if they think they can make money supporting it.]
“Today, the only lifeline for Gaza — humanitarian assistance — is being weaponized, conditioned, or blocked,” Houdet said. She criticized the newly established Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), backed by the United States and Israel, claiming that aid is no longer being delivered safely or impartially. “Supplies are being rerouted to serve military and political objectives,” she added.
[Accusations that GHF is profiting from the venture would most likely be true, but most NGOs, including Msf do not run on dreams. Houdet herself was the Director of Fundraising in South Africa from 2013-2020.]
Wu Yi-chun (鄔逸群), a Taiwanese plastic surgeon who served on two Msf missions to Gaza in July–August 2024 and January–February 2025, recounted the overwhelming number of patients at Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza.
“Even major hospitals in Taiwan would struggle to manage such a volume,” he said. Wu treated patients with blast and gunshot wounds, and emphasized that the hospital had been targeted by strikes, forcing newborns and critically ill patients to remain under fire.
“I want to stress that medicine is not a weapon, and hospitals should never be battlefields,” Wu said. “Under no circumstances is it acceptable to attack medical personnel or facilities.”
When asked by CNA why Taiwanese people should care about the Gaza conflict, Hung Shang-kai (洪上凱), an emergency physician who served with Msf in northern Gaza from July to November 2023, responded: “People in Taiwan and Gaza are both human beings. By sharing the common bond of humanity, we must not turn away from suffering — we must take action.”
In response to Msf’s remarks, the ISECO stated that Israel is “enabling” the GHF and international aid organizaions to “distribute assistance directly to Gaza’s residents, not to the Hamas terrorist organization.”
“Food, medicine, basic goods, and medical equipment are continuously entering the Gaza Strip,” the office stated. “Medical teams from international organizations continue to enter Gaza on a regular basis.”
The office also highlighted that the GHF distributed over 30 million meals in its first three weeks of operation, with more than 3 million meals delivered on Wednesday alone across three locations in Gaza.
“We continue to monitor and follow the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip,” the office added.
I feel the editor's notes are strange. Why focus on the fact that Houdet is a non-Taiwanese individual? Also, while the protest might have limited impact because of Taiwan's population, as head of MSF isn't it Houdet's obligation to do what he can?