The Chinese government yesterday offered an indirect thank you to President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) for her message of concern over devastating floods in Henan Province, in a rare show of goodwill between Beijing and Taipei.
Thirty-three people have died so far from heavy rains that have deluged Henan and its capital, Zhengzhou, for almost a week.
Tsai on Wednesday, through her spokesman, expressed concern and sent her condolences to the victims.
Photo: AFP
“President Tsai extends her sympathies and condolences to the flood victims and hopes life can return to normal soon for the survivors,” Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張惇涵) told reporters.
In a brief statement, China’s Taiwan Affairs Office expressed its thanks to “relevant parties in Taiwan and people from all walks of life who have expressed their concern and condolences to the disaster-stricken area through various forms.”
It also thanked Taiwanese companies for donating money and materials for disaster relief.
Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Chairman Johnny Chiang (江啟臣) also expressed his condolences for the floods, as did Vice President William Lai (賴清德).
“In this disaster that has hit the Chinese people, we sincerely hope there will be no more casualties in the flooded areas and all those affected will weather the difficult times,” Lai wrote on Facebook yesterday.
Meanwhile, Zhengzhou residents yesterday were shoveling mud from their homes and hauling away wrecked vehicles and piles of destroyed belongings, as rains continued to pound parts of Henan.
Streets have been turned into rivers and people were stranded in apartments, offices, hotels and rural homes in dozens of cities and towns.
In the worst incident in Zhengzhou, 12 people died on Tuesday night in the subway system when it was inundated with floodwater.
Another eight people remain missing in the floods, Xinhua news agency reported.
Xinxiang saw its heaviest rainfall in recorded history, with more than 25cm in 19 hours between Wednesday night and yesterday afternoon, according to the city’s weather agency.
The local government has urged people not to leave their homes unless necessary.
Additional reporting by CNA
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