First and foremost, the victims of this earthquake need anything that will help relieve their suffering.
Anything except politics.
In a time of tragedy, we have seen help coming from the international community, and we are grateful. In contrast, the UN has been irresponsibly slow and politically driven. I personally regard Mr Kofi Annan's remarks and the UN's slow response as a disgraceful conspiracy aimed at undermining Taiwan's sovereignty in the name of charity. Well, we all know who is behind the scenes. This kind of behavior is,
in my view, like an old Chinese proverb: "Steal when there's a fire (趁火打劫)."
Chiu Kuo-ming (邱國銘)
Hualien
Who is our brother?
As an overseas Taiwanese, my heart broke on Sept. 21 when the earthquake struck Taiwan. Not only did the Taiwanese people express concern, but international rescue teams and money have flowed in from around the world. These all show basic humanitarian sympathy.
Unfortunately, the Chinese Red Cross has taken the opportunity to proclaim sovereignty over Taiwan. According to an article in The China Press (Web edition, Sept.
23), Secretary-general of the Chinese Red Cross, Sun Aiming (孫愛明), said: "According to the founding principles of the International Red Cross, the Chinese Red Cross reminds other nations' Red Crosses to ask permission from Beijing before providing assistance to Taiwan."
The article also quoted a spokesman saying: "The permission means just `saying hi.' ... It is like strangers getting permission from a child's parents before giving candy to the child."
Reading this, I believe your sadness will be mixed with anger. Hold on to that feeling. Our sadness and anger can
be transformed into the strength to rebuild our homes and a new country.
An earthquake can topple buildings, but not our trust; it can take away lives, but not courage. China's US$100,000 earthquake relief fund can buy some relief goods, but it can't buy Taiwanese hearts.
Philip Chang
New Jersey
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