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
South Korea has adjusted its electronic arrival card system to no longer list Taiwan as a part of China, a move that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said would help facilitate exchanges between the two sides. South Korea previously listed “Taiwan” as “Taiwan (China)” in the drop-down menus of its online arrival card system, where people had to fill out where they came from and their next destination. The ministry had requested South Korea make a revision and said it would change South Korea’s name on Taiwan’s online immigration system from “Republic of Korea” to “Korea (South),” should the issue not be
Tainan, Taipei and New Taipei City recorded the highest fines nationwide for illegal accommodations in the first quarter of this year, with fines issued in the three cities each exceeding NT$7 million (US$220,639), Tourism Administration data showed. Among them, Taipei had the highest number of illegal short-term rental units, with 410. There were 3,280 legally registered hotels nationwide in the first quarter, down by 14 properties, or 0.43 percent, from a year earlier, likely indicating operators exiting the market, the agency said. However, the number of unregistered properties rose to 1,174, including 314 illegal hotels and 860 illegal short-term rental
Both sides of the Taiwan Strait share a political foundation based on the “1992 consensus” and opposition to Taiwanese independence, Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) today said during her meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平). Both sides of the Strait should plan and build institutionalized and sustainable mechanisms for dialogue and cooperation based on that foundation to make peaceful development across the Strait irreversible, she said. Peace is a shared moral value across the Strait, and both sides should move beyond political confrontation to seek institutionalized solutions to prevent war, she said. Mutually beneficial cross-strait relations are what the
ECONOMIC COERCION: Such actions are often inconsistently applied, sometimes resumed, and sometimes just halted, the Presidential Office spokeswoman said The government backs healthy and orderly cross-strait exchanges, but such arrangements should not be made with political conditions attached and never be used as leverage for political maneuvering or partisan agendas, Presidential Office spokeswoman Karen Kuo (郭雅慧) said yesterday. Kuo made the remarks after China earlier in the day announced 10 new “incentive measures” for Taiwan, following a landmark meeting between Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) and Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairwoman Cheng Li-wun (鄭麗文) in Beijing on Friday. The measures, unveiled by China’s Xinhua news agency, include plans to resume individual travel by residents of Shanghai and China’s Fujian
RSS