Taiwan has donated more money to earthquake-stricken Japan than any other country or region in the world, surprising the Japanese and making them realize that Taiwanese are true friends, a Japanese magazine reported in its latest issue.
The Shukan Shincho, a weekly magazine issued every Thursday, also ran a photo showing President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) soliciting donations for Japan on TV.
The report said more than 130 countries and regions have come to the aid of Japan in the wake of the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, such as the US, which has not only donated money, but also mobilized about 18,000 soldiers for assistance.
Photo: Wu Liang-yi, Taipei Times
In addition, Afghanistan, one of the poorest countries in the world, has donated ￥82 million (US$1 million), and many relatively poor countries in Africa, such as Sudan, had also contributed funds.
SURPRISED
However, what surprised the Japanese the most was the helping hand extended by Taiwan, the report said.
Taiwan has sent a rescue team and relief goods, and as of April 1, its Red Cross Society had solicited ￥10.99 billion in donations, up to 90 percent of which came from private donors.
Though it has a population of only 23 million, Taiwan has donated even more than the US, the report said.
PAST ACTIONS
The reports also cited a Japanese reporter stationed in Taiwan who said Taiwanesee had not forgotten the goodwill shown by Japan in the wake of Taiwan’s devastating on Sept. 21, 1999 earthquake that left more than 2,000 people dead.
Japan sent a 145-member rescue team and donated NT$1.1 billion (US$37 million) in funds to Taiwan after that natural disaster.
The magazine also cited diplomatic commentator Masahiro Miyazake’s observation that Japan’s pro-China political figures and media have not treated Taiwan well.
Even former President Lee Teng-hui (李登輝) sent encouraging messages to quake-affected victims, but pro-China media has barely acknowledged Taiwan’s support, he said, observing that true friends are those who are there in difficult times.
APPRECIATION
Meanwhile, Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co also ran a full-page ad in the largest-circulated newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun to express appreciation to Taiwan.
The ad said Taiwan sent a rescue team and relief goods, and the Red Cross Society had collected ￥11.01 billion as of Tuesday.
China might accelerate its strategic actions toward Taiwan, the South China Sea and across the first island chain, after the US officially entered a military conflict with Iran, as Beijing would perceive Washington as incapable of fighting a two-front war, a military expert said yesterday. The US’ ongoing conflict with Iran is not merely an act of retaliation or a “delaying tactic,” but a strategic military campaign aimed at dismantling Tehran’s nuclear capabilities and reshaping the regional order in the Middle East, said National Defense University distinguished adjunct lecturer Holmes Liao (廖宏祥), former McDonnell Douglas Aerospace representative in Taiwan. If
TO BE APPEALED: The environment ministry said coal reduction goals had to be reached within two months, which was against the principle of legitimate expectation The Taipei High Administrative Court on Thursday ruled in favor of the Taichung Environmental Protection Bureau in its administrative litigation against the Ministry of Environment for the rescission of a NT$18 million fine (US$609,570) imposed by the bureau on the Taichung Power Plant in 2019 for alleged excess coal power generation. The bureau in November 2019 revised what it said was a “slip of the pen” in the text of the operating permit granted to the plant — which is run by Taiwan Power Co (Taipower) — in October 2017. The permit originally read: “reduce coal use by 40 percent from Jan.
‘SPEY’ REACTION: Beijing said its Eastern Theater Command ‘organized troops to monitor and guard the entire process’ of a Taiwan Strait transit China sent 74 warplanes toward Taiwan between late Thursday and early yesterday, 61 of which crossed the median line in the Taiwan Strait. It was not clear why so many planes were scrambled, said the Ministry of National Defense, which tabulated the flights. The aircraft were sent in two separate tranches, the ministry said. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Thursday “confirmed and welcomed” a transit by the British Royal Navy’s HMS Spey, a River-class offshore patrol vessel, through the Taiwan Strait a day earlier. The ship’s transit “once again [reaffirmed the Strait’s] status as international waters,” the foreign ministry said. “Such transits by
Taiwan is doing everything it can to prevent a military conflict with China, including building up asymmetric defense capabilities and fortifying public resilience, Vice President Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) said in a recent interview. “Everything we are doing is to prevent a conflict from happening, whether it is 2027 or before that or beyond that,” Hsiao told American podcaster Shawn Ryan of the Shawn Ryan Show. She was referring to a timeline cited by several US military and intelligence officials, who said Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had instructed the Chinese People’s Liberation Army to be ready to take military action against Taiwan
RSS