The Taiwanese government yesterday appealed for public donations for the relief efforts in Japan as Taipei increased its donation from US$300,000 to NT$100 million (US$3,382,000) in light of the increasing scale of the disaster caused by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
“Taiwan has close relations with Japan, Japan is our important neighbor and there has been a close bond between the people of the two countries. The Japanese government and civil groups gave a helping hand to Taiwan at the time of the 921 Earthquake [in 1999] and August 8 Flood [in 2009] ... We hereby appeal to Taiwanese to donate to help those in Japan,” Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) said at a press conference.
The 921 earthquake refers to a magnitude 7.3 quake that struck Taiwan on Sept. 21, 1999. The quake claimed 2,444 lives and injured 11,305, according to government statistics. More than 51,000 homes collapsed and 53,768 were severely damaged.
Asked about the situation of Taiwanese in Japan, Huang Ming-lung (黃明朗), secretary-general of the ministry’s East Asian Relations Commission, said: “No casualties nor injuries have been reported thus far, but we are still unable to reach several hundred Taiwanese compatriots and two students.”
According to the ministry, 39 Taiwanese tour groups totaling 1,066 people in Tokyo, a tour group of 16 people in Akita and another tour group of 30 in Sendai were all confirmed safe, but two academics surnamed Lee (李) and Hsieh (謝), who were in Sendai for an academic meeting, were unaccounted for at press time.
The ministry said that there were 653 Taiwanese compatriots and 50 students in the main disaster areas, adding that 115 resided in Fukushima where residents within a 20km radius of a nuclear power plant were told to evacuate their homes yesterday after radiation levels rose following a massive explosion at the power plant.
The ministry is keeping a close eye on the situation in Japan, particularly in its hardest-hit northeastern coastal regions, and would respond to an emergency in a speedy and efficient manner, Shen said.
The government appeared to offer conflicting accounts on the nation’s aid offer to Japan, as both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said yesterday that Japan had formally asked Taiwan on Friday for assistance, including rescue teams and rescue dogs, and Wu said the Taiwanese rescue teams could leave for Japan yesterday or today.
However, Shen said he was not aware of the discussions that both Ma and Wu mentioned.
According to Huang, Taiwan first offered to send rescue teams to Japan, but Tokyo told Taipei to hold off for the time being.
Shen said the ministry was told by Japanese Representative to Taiwan Tadashi Imai that Tokyo did not need the help and that Japan would stay in contact with Taipei if it needed assistance as the situation developed.
Several Taiwan International Emergency Rescue Team groups were also ready to leave for Japan as officials in Taipei continued to contact their Japanese counterparts to offer assistance for rescue efforts, Shen added.
Meanwhile, former Japanese prime minister Toshiki Kaifu, who is on a three-day visit in Taipei, called a press conference yesterday to express gratitude to Ma, who Kaifu said twice made telephone calls to offer his condolences to Japan and the Japanese people.
Kaifu said he was not in a position to comment on why Tokyo declined Taipei’s help, a decision he believed was made by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign Affairs, saying that he personally thought that “the offer should be accepted.”
DEFENDING DEMOCRACY: Taiwan shares the same values as those that fought in WWII, and nations must unite to halt the expansion of a new authoritarian bloc, Lai said The government yesterday held a commemoration ceremony for Victory in Europe (V-E) Day, joining the rest of the world for the first time to mark the anniversary of the end of World War II in Europe. Taiwan honoring V-E Day signifies “our growing connections with the international community,” President William Lai (賴清德) said at a reception in Taipei on the 80th anniversary of V-E Day. One of the major lessons of World War II is that “authoritarianism and aggression lead only to slaughter, tragedy and greater inequality,” Lai said. Even more importantly, the war also taught people that “those who cherish peace cannot
STEADFAST FRIEND: The bills encourage increased Taiwan-US engagement and address China’s distortion of UN Resolution 2758 to isolate Taiwan internationally The Presidential Office yesterday thanked the US House of Representatives for unanimously passing two Taiwan-related bills highlighting its solid support for Taiwan’s democracy and global participation, and for deepening bilateral relations. One of the bills, the Taiwan Assurance Implementation Act, requires the US Department of State to periodically review its guidelines for engagement with Taiwan, and report to the US Congress on the guidelines and plans to lift self-imposed limitations on US-Taiwan engagement. The other bill is the Taiwan International Solidarity Act, which clarifies that UN Resolution 2758 does not address the issue of the representation of Taiwan or its people in
The Philippines yesterday criticized a “high-risk” maneuver by a Chinese vessel near the disputed Scarborough Shoal (Huangyan Island, 黃岩島) in a rare incident involving warships from the two navies. The Scarborough Shoal — a triangular chain of reefs and rocks in the contested South China Sea — has been a flash point between the countries since China seized it from the Philippines in 2012. Taiwan also claims the shoal. Monday’s encounter took place approximately 11.8 nautical miles (22km) southeast” of the Scarborough Shoal, the Philippine military said, during ongoing US-Philippine military exercises that Beijing has criticized as destabilizing. “The Chinese frigate BN 554 was
LEISURE: The new law adds Confucius’ birthday, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou, Constitution Day and Little New Year as national holidays The Legislative Yuan yesterday passed new legislation adding four national holidays and making Workers’ Day a national holiday for all sectors. The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) and the Taiwan People’s Party used their combined majority in the legislature to push the jointly proposed draft through its third and final reading. This new law supersedes the existing regulations for the implementation of memorial days and state holidays, which are administered by the Ministry of the Interior. The new law recognizes Confucius’ birthday on Sept. 28, the anniversary of the Battle of Guningtou on Oct. 25, Constitution Day on Dec. 25 and “Little New Year,”
RSS