Taiwan has responded to Tuesday's earthquake with an avalanche of aid to help the needy in disaster areas, especially the hardest hit areas of Taichung and Nantou counties.
In addition, condolences and aid have poured in from all over the world.
Madame Chiang Kai-shek (宋美齡), widow of the late ROC President Chiang Kai-shek (蔣介石), yesterday instructed the New York chapter of the ROC Women's Association she heads to donate NT$100 million (US$31,446), and called for assistance efforts from Taiwan's 57 branches.
Despite the tension across the Taiwan Strait, China's Taiwan Studies Graduate School of the China Sociology College donated RMB46,880 (NT$180,000) via the Red Cross Society of the People's Republic of China.
Overseas Chinese have also rendered help. US$100,000 was collected within 24 hours from the Taiwanese community living in southern California and the amount is rising. The Southern California Computer Association yesterday morning donated US$60,000 and the KMT's West Coast office donated US$1,000 in an attempt to encourage more donations from the US.
Taiwanese business communities in the Philippines have also initiated a donation campaign.
Local assistance was also abundant, even from areas hit hardest by the quake.
Taichung County Commissioner Liao Yung-lai (
The county has set up a special account accessible to all those wishing to make a monetary contribution. The name of the account is Taichung County Government 921 Earthquake Disaster Relief Account (
Liao also called for the contribution of non-financial aid including ice boxes, drinking water, food, blankets, tents and medical supplies.
Nantou County has also set up a special account for aid contributions at the Bank of Taiwan's Nantou branch. The account number is 0300088477. DPP Legislator Tsai Huang-lang (
Elsewhere on the island, Taipei Mayor Ma Ying-jeou (
He also urged city government employees to donate one day's salary to further assist.
In addition, he instructed the city's Bureau of Public Health to mobilize city hospital medical equipment and professionals to offer the necessary assistance as soon as possible. Meanwhile, relief materials gathered from city residents will be delivered to the disaster areas.
The KMT, meanwhile, has donated NT$200 million and set up a disaster relief account. Those who wish to help can send their money to the KMT 921 earthquake special account (
So many donations have been made, in fact, that the Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has set up a service center to manage them. The MOI also encouraged the public to wire their donations to the Central Bank Treasury Department account (中央銀行國庫局內政部保管款), No 051043; or MOI 921 disaster relief special account (內政部九一二賑災專戶), No 19389716; or to send cheques to 5 Hsuchou Rd, Taipei, MOI Social Affairs Department 921 disaster relief special account (內政部社會司九二一賑災專戶).
So far the MOI has received many donations from private sector organizations including the Astek Computer Inc (
President Enterprises Corp (
Hsinchu County Commissioner Lin Kuang-hua (
Tainan County has donated NT$25 million and County Commissioner Mark Chen (
Those who wish to make donations can also do so at 7-Eleven stores or send their money to the Tzuchi Foundation account No. 0688779-1.
FALSE DOCUMENTS? Actor William Liao said he was ‘voluntarily cooperating’ with police after a suspect was accused of helping to produce false medical certificates Police yesterday questioned at least six entertainers amid allegations of evasion of compulsory military service, with Lee Chuan (李銓), a member of boy band Choc7 (超克7), and actor Daniel Chen (陳大天) among those summoned. The New Taipei City District Prosecutors’ Office in January launched an investigation into a group that was allegedly helping men dodge compulsory military service using falsified medical documents. Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) has been accused of being one of the group’s clients. As the investigation expanded, investigators at New Taipei City’s Yonghe Precinct said that other entertainers commissioned the group to obtain false documents. The main suspect, a man surnamed
DEMOGRAPHICS: Robotics is the most promising answer to looming labor woes, the long-term care system and national contingency response, an official said Taiwan is to launch a five-year plan to boost the robotics industry in a bid to address labor shortages stemming from a declining and aging population, the Executive Yuan said yesterday. The government approved the initiative, dubbed the Smart Robotics Industry Promotion Plan, via executive order, senior officials told a post-Cabinet meeting news conference in Taipei. Taiwan’s population decline would strain the economy and the nation’s ability to care for vulnerable and elderly people, said Peter Hong (洪樂文), who heads the National Science and Technology Council’s (NSTC) Department of Engineering and Technologies. Projections show that the proportion of Taiwanese 65 or older would
Democracies must remain united in the face of a shifting geopolitical landscape, former president Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) told the Copenhagen Democracy Summit on Tuesday, while emphasizing the importance of Taiwan’s security to the world. “Taiwan’s security is essential to regional stability and to defending democratic values amid mounting authoritarianism,” Tsai said at the annual forum in the Danish capital. Noting a “new geopolitical landscape” in which global trade and security face “uncertainty and unpredictability,” Tsai said that democracies must remain united and be more committed to building up resilience together in the face of challenges. Resilience “allows us to absorb shocks, adapt under
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電) yesterday said it is building nine new advanced wafer manufacturing and packaging factories this year, accelerating its expansion amid strong demand for high-performance computing (HPC) and artificial intelligence (AI) applications. The chipmaker built on average five factories per year from 2021 to last year and three from 2017 to 2020, TSMC vice president of advanced technology and mask engineering T.S. Chang (張宗生) said at the company’s annual technology symposium in Hsinchu City. “We are quickening our pace even faster in 2025. We plan to build nine new factories, including eight wafer fabrication plants and one advanced
RSS