The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) has released and forwarded a list of items the nation most needs from the international community after it was published by the Government Information Office on Thursday night.
“The list was forwarded to the American Institute in Taiwan [AIT] and to Japan’s Interchange Association as soon as it was available,” MOFA Spokesman Henry Chen (陳銘政) told the Central News Agency. “In addition, the foreign ministry has requested all its overseas representative offices to pass on the list to their respective host governments to seek help.”
Items most needed include specialized helicopters and pilots capable of transporting heavy payloads, such as excavators and heavy gravel trucks, as well as 1,000 prefabricated houses to provide temporary refuge for homeless flood victims, a MOFA press release said.
PHOTO: CHU PEI-HSIUNG, TAIPEI TIMES
The country is also requesting 100,000 bottles of phenolic disinfectant or Benzyl-p-chloropherno, 200,000 Aquatab water purification tablets, 100,000 liters of sterilizing agent for sanitation, 1,000 portable sterilizers and 500 automatic sterilizers.
The Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) last night issued a statement regarding China’s offer of help.
It said that Taiwan welcomed the offer of prefabricated houses, desperately needed by victims, adding that the SEF and its Chinese counterpart would arrange delivery of the items.
But the SEF declined offers of Chinese rescue teams, life-maintenance materials and medical items, saying these items were in sufficient supply.
The ministry said on Thursday that a total of 50 countries, the EU and five international non-governmental organizations had expressed their condolences to Taiwan over the natural disaster.
“On behalf of the government and people of the Republic of China, we would like to express our most sincere appreciation for all the support and concern expressed by the countries and international organizations,” MOFA said in the press release.
So far, Australia has pledged to provide 200,000 water purification tablets, Singapore has flown in food and medical supplies, and Israel shipped hundreds of devices that can purify flood water into drinking water and emergency water transportation systems, which arrived last night, the ministry said yesterday, adding that more help is on the way.
AIT also confirmed the US government was still working out the logistics for US aid.
Minister of National Defense Chen Chao-min (陳肇敏) was quoted in a Central News Agency report as saying yesterday the US and Japan would not offer helicopters because of the long distance, but MOFA yesterday said confirmation had not been received from the two countries.
ADDITIONAL REPORTING BY JENNY W. HSU AND SHIH HSIU-CHUAN
Starlux Airlines, Taiwan’s newest international carrier, has announced it would apply to join the Oneworld global airline alliance before the end of next year. In an investor conference on Monday, Starlux Airlines chief executive officer Glenn Chai (翟健華) said joining the alliance would help it access Taiwan. Chai said that if accepted, Starlux would work with other airlines in the alliance on flight schedules, passenger transits and frequent flyer programs. The Oneworld alliance has 13 members, including American Airlines, British Airways, Cathay Pacific and Qantas, and serves more than 900 destinations in 170 territories. Joining Oneworld would also help boost
A new tropical storm formed late yesterday near Guam and is to approach closest to Taiwan on Thursday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. Tropical Storm Pulasan became the 14th named storm of the year at 9:25pm yesterday, the agency said. As of 8am today, it was near Guam traveling northwest at 21kph, it said. The storm’s structure is relatively loose and conditions for strengthening are limited, WeatherRisk analyst Wu Sheng-yu (吳聖宇) said on Facebook. Its path is likely to be similar to Typhoon Bebinca, which passed north of Taiwan over Japan’s Ryukyu Islands and made landfall in Shanghai this morning, he said. However, it
Taiwan's Gold Apollo Co (金阿波羅通信) said today that the pagers used in detonations in Lebanon the day before were not made by it, but by a company called BAC which has a license to use its brand. At least nine people were killed and nearly 3,000 wounded when pagers used by Hezbollah members detonated simultaneously across Lebanon yesterday. Images of destroyed pagers analyzed by Reuters showed a format and stickers on the back that were consistent with pagers made by Gold Apollo. A senior Lebanese security source told Reuters that Hezbollah had ordered 5,000 pagers from Taiwan-based Gold Apollo. "The product was not
COLD FACTS: ‘Snow skin’ mooncakes, made with a glutinous rice skin and kept at a low temperature, have relatively few calories compared with other mooncakes Traditional mooncakes are a typical treat for many Taiwanese in the lead-up to the Mid-Autumn Festival, but a Taipei-based dietitian has urged people not to eat more than one per day and not to have them every day due to their high fat and calorie content. As mooncakes contain a lot of oil and sugar, they can have negative health effects on older people and those with diabetes, said Lai Yu-han (賴俞含), a dietitian at Taipei Hospital of the Ministry of Health and Welfare. “The maximum you can have is one mooncake a day, and do not eat them every day,” Lai