Indonesia on Tuesday expressed gratitude to Taiwan for its donation toward the Southeast Asian nation’s efforts to recover from the haze generated by widespread forest fires.
Taiwan’s representative to Indonesia Chang Liang-jen (張良任) handed over a US$200,000 donation to Indonesian Red Cross acting chairman Ginandjar Kartasasmita at a ceremony in Jakarta attended by Indonesian Vice President Jusuf Kalla and other Indonesian officials.
Indonesia is very grateful for Taiwan’s assistance in battling the haze, Kalla told reporters, adding that he is also grateful for the help of Taiwanese following previous disasters, including earthquakes and tsunamis.
The wave of air pollution has led to massive economic losses in the Indonesian provinces of Sumatra and Kalimantan, and has also damaged the health of many residents, Chang said at the donation ceremony.
As Taiwan and Indonesia have close economic ties and a strong friendship, Taipei is glad to help the haze-affected areas and residents recover from the disaster as soon as possible, Chang said, adding that Taiwan would always be ready to provide it, whenever Indonesia needs help.
Due to the concerted efforts of Taiwanese investors operating in Indonesia and the Indonesian government, Taiwan donated 200 tonnes of rice to remote neighborhoods in Jakarta in 2013, Chang said, adding that last year, Taiwan assisted Jakarta with cleanup efforts after the nation was hit by flooding.
In addition, Taiwan provided assistance to Indonesia following natural disasters in Aceh, Yogyakarta and Sulawesi provinces, Chang said. These contributions demonstrated Taiwan’s readiness to provide humanitarian assistance around the world, and cemented ties between Taiwan and Indonesia, Chang said.
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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