The government yesterday did an about-face, saying it would accept foreign aid after the public expressed indignation over the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ (MOFA) decision to refuse all foreign assistance except for cash.
“We welcome all kinds of help from all countries. We will provide a detailed list of the items that we need very soon,” Executive Yuan spokesman Su Jun-pin (蘇俊賓) told a press conference following the weekly Cabinet meeting yesterday. “The list could include personnel, aircraft and heavy machinery.”
On Tuesday, MOFA said it was only accepting cash donations and declined all other forms of assistance, such as goods and search and rescue teams.
MOFA spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told reporters at the time that Taiwan was grateful for the kind offers of help extended by the international community, but said that Taiwan was capable of handling the disaster on its own.
Chen’s comments drew fire from the public, which panned the government as being money hungry and apathetic toward the plight of flood victims.
Angry citizens bombarded the ministry with complaints yesterday, urging it to immediately open the borders to foreign aid.
Some bloggers compared the Taiwanese government with the military junta in Myanmar when it blocked foreign humanitarian groups from helping after Cyclone Nargis devastated the country last May, leaving thousands to fend for themselves.
The government’s position on accepting foreign aid remained unclear through Wednesday, with Presidential Office Spokesman Wang Yu-chi (王郁琦) quoted by media as saying that the Presidential Office respected MOFA’s decision and its professional judgment, while Premier Liu Chao-shiuan (劉兆玄), at a separate setting later on Wednesday, said Taiwan was willing to accept help from other countries and would make requests when necessary.
Su yesterday said the remarks were a misunderstanding.
“The main concern of the Executive Yuan was that any aid should be able to meet the needs of the disaster areas,” Su said. “The Executive Yuan first asked each government department to determine which items were in sufficient supply. As for other equipment and whether we need foreign help in frontline rescue operations, related government departments will decide whether it is proper based on their expertise. The government is working on collecting information and doing further studies.”
Soon after the government said it was willing to accept aid from other countries, US$1.1 million in medical supplies and food arrived from Singapore, making it the first foreign donor to help out with supplies after Typhoon Morakot battered southern Taiwan over the weekend.
MOFA deputy spokesman James Chang (章計平) said that as of yesterday, the government had received much more than US$500,000 in donations from the international community, adding that more was still being tallied.
So far, 50 countries have expressed condolences and willingness to lend a helping hand if needed, he said.
Earlier yesterday, while inspecting Matou Township (麻豆) in Tainan County, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) denied that his government had rejected international aid, saying that Taiwan welcomed assistance from the international community.
“So far the US, Japan, Singapore and the mainland have donated money, and we have accepted it with pleasure,” Ma said in response to media queries about MOFA’s rejection of aid.
Legislators across party lines yesterday supported the government’s call for foreign aid.
“Which is more important now, saving lives or [saving the government’s] face? Everyone knows perfectly well that saving lives is the first priority,” Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Lo Shu-lei (羅淑蕾) said. “We should welcome all foreign aid that can help us speed up the process of disaster relief and rescue efforts.”
KMT Legislator Wu Ching-chih (吳清池) agreed, saying that the government should invite foreign rescue teams to help with the relief.
Democratic Progressive Party Legislator Huang Sue-ying (黃淑英) said accepting foreign aid was necessary because the government was “obviously incompetent” in disaster relief.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY KO SHU-LING AND FLORA WANG
CHAOS: Iranians took to the streets playing celebratory music after reports of Khamenei’s death on Saturday, while mourners also gathered in Tehran yesterday Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei was killed in a major attack on Iran launched by Israel and the US, throwing the future of the Islamic republic into doubt and raising the risk of regional instability. Iranian state television and the state-run IRNA news agency announced the 86-year-old’s death early yesterday. US President Donald Trump said it gave Iranians their “greatest chance” to “take back” their country. The announcements came after a joint US and Israeli aerial bombardment that targeted Iranian military and governmental sites. Trump said the “heavy and pinpoint bombing” would continue through the week or as long
TRUST: The KMT said it respected the US’ timing and considerations, and hoped it would continue to honor its commitments to helping Taiwan bolster its defenses and deterrence US President Donald Trump is delaying a multibillion-dollar arms sale to Taiwan to ensure his visit to Beijing is successful, a New York Times report said. The weapons sales package has stalled in the US Department of State, the report said, citing US officials it did not identify. The White House has told agencies not to push forward ahead of Trump’s meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平), it said. The two last month held a phone call to discuss trade and geopolitical flashpoints ahead of the summit. Xi raised the Taiwan issue and urged the US to handle arms sales to
State-run CPC Corp, Taiwan (CPC, 台灣中油) yesterday said that it had confirmed on Saturday night with its liquefied natural gas (LNG) and crude oil suppliers that shipments are proceeding as scheduled and that domestic supplies remain unaffected. The CPC yesterday announced the gasoline and diesel prices will rise by NT$0.2 and NT$0.4 per liter, respectively, starting Monday, citing Middle East tensions and blizzards in the eastern United States. CPC also iterated it has been reducing the proportion of crude oil imports from the Middle East and diversifying its supply sources in the past few years in response to geopolitical risks, expanding
OTHER OPTIONS: Given possible US intervention and Taiwanese counterattacks, China might opt to blockade Taiwan or take its outlying islands instead of an all-out invasion A US think tank has urged Taiwan to adopt a “hellscape” strategy that would flood the Taiwan Strait with drones and other uncrewed systems to deter invasion by China. In its report, Hellscape for Taiwan, published on Thursday, the Center for a New American Security said Taipei’s asymmetric defense approach — often described as a “porcupine strategy” — needs to evolve to keep pace with the growing capabilities of the Chinese People’s Liberation Army. The “hellscape” strategy involves saturating the air and waters around Taiwan with thousands of drones and other platforms capable of striking invading forces from multiple domains at once. Long-range
RSS