President Ma Ying-jeou said Wednesday civic groups and charities in Taiwan will sponsor 8,000 to 10,000 Haitian orphans and children from low-income families. Addressing a Lunar New Year party held by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in honor of foreign diplomats and representatives stationed in Taipei, Ma said Taiwan has finalized an aid package to help its Caribbean ally get back on its feet after a devastating magnitude-7 earthquake in January. In addition to the child sponsorship program, Ma said, the aid package will include a Taiwan healthcare center in Haiti to train medical and healthcare staff, 1,200 permanent houses that will be able to accommodate 6,000 displaced families, and vocational training centers for 3,500 job seekers. Ma, who made a stopover in the Dominican Republic Jan. 28 on his way home from Honduras to show his concern for earthquake-battered Haiti, said Taiwan will be a responsible stakeholder in the international community under his leadership. The Republic of China will be a peacemaker, not a troublemaker, a humanitarian aid provider, not an apathetic bystander, Ma said. According to the president, his administration's top foreign policy goal is to make Taiwan an internationally respected country. On external relations, Ma said his government's efforts to improve relations with China will also contribute to Taiwan's relations with other major countries around the world. He also expressed the hope that China will show more goodwill and less obstructionist tendencies with regard to Taiwan's bid to join international governmental and non-governmental organizations. 'If China can do this, the people of Taiwan will be more willing to support my administration's efforts to deepen cross-strait engagements, which in turn will lead to a benign cycle,' Ma added. In an effort to make Taiwan a hub for Asia-Pacific trade, Ma said, his administration is working to sign an economic cooperation framework agreement with China to smooth the way for similar free trade agreements with its other major trade partners. 'All these efforts are aimed at protecting us from being marginalized in this era of globalization and regional economic integration,' Ma added. Stressing Taiwan's efforts to develop soft power, Ma said his government plans to offer more Taiwan scholarships to attract young foreign students. The dinner party at Taipei Grand Hotel featured dishes and delicacies made with local ingredients such as Hsinchu rice noodle, Puli winter mushrooms, Penghu seafood and Yilan duck. Members of the Taipei diplomatic corps, senior government officials and prominent business executives attended the party. 