The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) said yesterday it was just a matter of time before Beijing would wire donations to victims of Typhoon Morakot.
The Straits Exchange Foundation said on Wednesday that donations from China for post-Morakot relief and rehabilitation totaled NT$4.5 billion (US$139 million).
President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) said earlier this month in a speech at a memorial service for the Morakot victims that “China’s contributions have so far amounted to donations that exceed NT$5 billion, the single largest donation [received] from overseas.”
A high-ranking council official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said it took the foundation four months to wire donations to China that the government collected after the devastating Sichuan earthquake in May last year.
“We did not wire the money until we were sure where the money would go and how it would be used,” the official said. “I believe China will adopt the same approach this time around and it certainly makes sense.”
The official said money donated by China mainly went to two institutions in Taiwan: the foundation and the Red Cross of the Republic of China.
Foundation Chairman Chiang Pin-kung (江丙坤) on Wednesday said that donations from China routed through his organization have been handed over to relevant government agencies.
Chiang also suggested that Taiwan and China cooperate on weather forecasting and disaster early warning systems, and that both sides of the Taiwan Strait should share their disaster prevention experience.
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