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As the publication of the 2002 edition of the Directory of 300 Major Foundations in Taiwan  was drawing near, the Ministry of Justice, after a two years public hearing process, was close to submit for review to the Executive Yuan a draft on "Regulations for the Administration of Incorporated Entities". Through this draft, the government evidently hopes to respond and adapt to the evolving nature of foundations by insisting on the importance for them to have a self-regulated administrative system. This document also stresses the need for increased transparency for foundations with the hope that, in the future, the public will have access to information on their operation, thus establishing public trust and helping to further the development of Taiwan s third sector.

The Himalaya Foundation, in order to address the lack of information on incorporated entities in Taiwan, started to collect data on foundations in 1992. In the beginning, this task was made arduous by the reluctance of foundations to provide information. For the first edition of the directory, the Foundation, apart from consulting available material from government supervising agencies, also had to send some of its staff to county and municipal courts to consult and copy the information contained in legal documents regarding foundations. After ten years of continuous efforts, the Directory has made a name for itself, now benefiting from the trust and support of foundations. For this 2002 edition, more than 80% of the foundations listed in this book have voluntarily provided data on their organization, including financial figures. For this, we wish to express to them our deepest thanks and are pleased that Taiwan s third sector is a step closer to achieving its goal of transparency.

At the same time, while we are publishing the 2002 Directory with new and updated information on foundations, ten professors specialists of the nonprofit field in Taiwan, including Prof Michael Hsiao, Prof Joyce Feng, Prof Chiang Min-hsiu and Prof Kuan Yuyuan, are working in collaboration with the National Youth Commission and the Himalaya Foundation on a project of high significance for the third sector in Taiwan: the general survey of foundations in Taiwan. Already, data on some 3000 foundations is available. Upon completion of the survey, not only will the data collected be at the disposition of academics but the Himalaya Foundation will also make it available to the general public by creating a Foundation Database that will be linked to the website of the Taiwan Philanthropy Information Center (http://www.npo.org.tw). Since 1999, when the Himalaya Foundation published for the first time in its present form the Directory of 300 Major Foundations in Taiwan, we have greatly benefited from the involvement and guidance of Professor Michael Hsiao and Professor Joyce Feng. We feel very much indebted and would like to convey to them our most sincere thanks.

Himalaya Foundation
April 2002