Under a scorching sun and a sudden downpour, ambassadors from Taiwan’s diplomatic allies in Taipei yesterday pulled out all stops to sell items from their countries to raise funds for the victims of Typhoon Marokot.
The two-day charity sale, sponsored by the International Cooperation and Development Fund, drew hundreds of buyers in Taipei.
Standing behind a table filled with handmade clay vases and leather goods from Nicaragua, Ambassador William Tapia said the sale was a display of gratitude and solidarity from the people of his country.
PHOTO: CHIEN JUNG-FONG, TAIPEI TIMES
“The people of Nicaragua have received much help from Taiwan during times of need. Taiwan was often the first country to come to Nicaragua’s aid when we needed relief. Now that a disaster has struck Taiwan, we are here to help,” he said.
“Even though our hearts are big, our wallets are small. But we still want to do something to show our solidarity,” he said.
Burkina Faso also set up a booth selling hand-made African tie-dye clothes. Paraguay, Honduras, the Dominican Republic, Haiti, Belize, the Marshall Islands and Nauru also joined in the effort by donating trinkets from their countries.
Bakary Singhateh, a Gambian student at National Taiwan Normal University, said he was deeply touched by the images of the typhoon he saw on TV.
To help with the relief work, he and other Gambian friends donated memorabilia they brought from home to the charity sale, he said.
Jasmine Huggins, charge d’affaires from Saint Kitts and Nevis said people from her country felt compelled to help, adding that if possible, she would be happy to go to the disaster zone to help with cleanup efforts.
“This is a demonstration that we are very willing to cooperate. No matter what amount, we are with Taiwan. We are expressing our solidarity with your country and your people,” El Salvadoran Ambassador Francisco Santana.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Francisco Ou (歐鴻鍊) and deputy foreign minister Javier Hou (侯清山) were scheduled to appear at the event, but both did not show up.
A group of Taiwanese-American and Tibetan-American students at Harvard University on Saturday disrupted Chinese Ambassador to the US Xie Feng’s (謝鋒) speech at the school, accusing him of being responsible for numerous human rights violations. Four students — two Taiwanese Americans and two from Tibet — held up banners inside a conference hall where Xie was delivering a speech at the opening ceremony of the Harvard Kennedy School China Conference 2024. In a video clip provided by the Coalition of Students Resisting the CCP (Chinese Communist Party), Taiwanese-American Cosette Wu (吳亭樺) and Tibetan-American Tsering Yangchen are seen holding banners that together read:
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Heat advisories were in effect for nine administrative regions yesterday afternoon as warm southwesterly winds pushed temperatures above 38°C in parts of southern Taiwan, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. As of 3:30pm yesterday, Tainan’s Yujing District (玉井) had recorded the day’s highest temperature of 39.7°C, though the measurement will not be included in Taiwan’s official heat records since Yujing is an automatic rather than manually operated weather station, the CWA said. Highs recorded in other areas were 38.7°C in Kaohsiung’s Neimen District (內門), 38.2°C in Chiayi City and 38.1°C in Pingtung’s Sandimen Township (三地門), CWA data showed. The spell of scorching