Print

Mail

wiki links

SEF sends message of condolence to China flood victims

The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) sent a message of condolence to its Chinese counterpart yesterday, expressing its concerns and regards for those affected by recent storms and floods in the southwestern province of Sichuan.

SEF officials said the foundation has asked the Beijing-based Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Strait (ARATS) to convey its condolences to the bereaved families of those who were killed, totaling at least 79 as of yesterday morning, by flash floods caused by the worst storms southwest China has seen in many years, as well as its regards to the some 1 million other surviving and displaced victims.

The SEF and ARATS are quasi-official intermediary bodies authorized by their respective governments to handle cross-strait exchanges in the absence of official ties.

Wire service reports said that at least 55 people had been reported killed and 47 missing in the northeastern part of Sichuan while 24 people had been reported killed and 27 missing in the municipality of Chongqing as of yesterday morning.

Torrential rains over the past several days have triggered landslides, mountain torrents and mudflows, causing many deaths and extensive damage to property.

The SEF sent a similar message of concerns and regards to the ARATS on Aug. 13 after Typhoon Rananim caused widespread damage in Zhejiang Province. A total of 63 people were killed, and more than 1,800 others injured as a result of the typhoon.
This story has been viewed 1841 times.