After nine hours struggling to reach quake-stricken Haiti from neighboring Dominican Republic, the first Taiwanese search and rescue team arrived in the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince at about 1pm on Saturday and immediately pitched in with the desperate search for survivors.
The team of 14 specialists and two sniffer dogs — along with 2,000kg of equipment and medical supplies, including life detectors — reported to a UN coordination center to share assignments after responding to a call by the Republic of China embassy in Haiti to search the collapsed central government building to determine whether anyone was still alive beneath mountains of rubble.
Some members of the team began providing medical services to the wounded.
PHOTO: CNA
Squad leader Lin Chien-chih (林謙志) said their arrival had been stalled for two days because of impeded air traffic.
Lin said the team would stay in Haiti for at least three days, but would stay longer if required.
The team departed from Santo Domingo, the capital of the Dominican Republic, which shares a border with Haiti, at 4am on Saturday for Port-au-Prince aboard two mini buses and one truck.
Meanwhile, Chang Tai-fu (張台輔), Taiwan’s acting ambassador in Haiti, told the Central News Agency (CNA) yesterday that China’s commercial representative there had suggested to him via a Taiwanese businessman that Taipei and Beijing jointly conduct rescue and relief tasks in the Caribbean country. However, the proposal “has been rejected courteously” by Chang on grounds that the rescue teams of the two sides have been tasked with different missions.
Ambassador to Haiti Hsu Mien-sheng (徐勉生) and Consul Chi Wang-teh (齊王德) were injured when their Port-au-Prince headquarters collapsed during the killer quake. They have been sent to the Dominican Republic for treatment.
CNA yesterday also reported that a four-year-old daughter of an overseas Taiwanese businessman, was confirmed by her mother as killed by the earthquake. The girl’s body was found under the rubble of a collapsed school building by French and Canadian search teams, CNA said.
In related news, President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) could add the Dominican Republic to the itinerary of his visit to Honduras later this month to bring monetary aid and relief goods to Haiti.
Ma is to attend the Jan. 27 inauguration of Honduran president-elect Porfirio Lobo Sosa.
A source in Taipei said Ma would bring the relief funds and goods to the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti, but would not enter Haiti to avoid causing more trouble for the diplomatic ally.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY AFP
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
PEACE AND STABILITY: Maintaining the cross-strait ‘status quo’ has long been the government’s position, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Taiwan is committed to maintaining the cross-strait “status quo” and seeks no escalation of tensions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) said yesterday, rebutting a Time magazine opinion piece that described President William Lai (賴清德) as a “reckless leader.” The article, titled “The US Must Beware of Taiwan’s Reckless Leader,” was written by Lyle Goldstein, director of the Asia Program at the Washington-based Defense Priorities think tank. Goldstein wrote that Taiwan is “the world’s most dangerous flashpoint” amid ongoing conflicts in the Middle East and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. He said that the situation in the Taiwan Strait has become less stable
REASSURANCE: The US said Taiwan’s interests would not be harmed during the talk and that it remains steadfast in its support for the nation, the foreign minister said US President Donald Trump on Friday said he would bring up Taiwan with Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) during a meeting on the sidelines of the APEC Summit in South Korea this week. “I will be talking about Taiwan [with Xi],” Trump told reporters before he departed for his trip to Asia, adding that he had “a lot of respect for Taiwan.” “We have a lot to talk about with President Xi, and he has a lot to talk about with us. I think we’ll have a good meeting,” Trump said. Taiwan has long been a contentious issue between the US and China.
FRESH LOOK: A committee would gather expert and public input on the themes and visual motifs that would appear on the notes, the central bank governor said The central bank has launched a comprehensive redesign of New Taiwan dollar banknotes to enhance anti-counterfeiting measures, improve accessibility and align the bills with global sustainability standards, Governor Yang Chin-long (楊金龍) told a meeting of the legislature’s Finance Committee yesterday. The overhaul would affect all five denominations — NT$100, NT$200, NT$500, NT$1,000 and NT$2,000 notes — but not coins, Yang said. It would be the first major update to the banknotes in 24 years, as the current series, introduced in 2001, has remained in circulation amid rapid advances in printing technology and security standards. “Updating the notes is essential to safeguard the integrity
RSS