The government yesterday pledged to donate US$500,000 to Haiti after the Caribbean ally was struck by a magnitude 7.2 earthquake on Saturday.
Haitian Prime Minister Ariel Henry declared a state of emergency after at least 304 people died in the quake.
More than 1,800 people were injured, the Haitian Civil Protection Agency said.
Photo courtesy of Tainan City Government Fire Bureau
President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) expressed her condolences to the Haitian government and its people, and pledged to donate US$500,000 to help with post-disaster relief efforts, Presidential Office spokesman Xavier Chang (張淳涵) said yesterday.
Tsai on Twitter said she was saddened by news of the earthquake.
“On behalf of the people & government of Taiwan I want to express our deepest condolences to everyone affected. Taiwan stands ready to assist Haiti in rescue & recovery efforts,” she wrote.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) and Ambassador to Haiti Ku Wen-jiann (古文劍) conveyed Tsai’s condolences to Haitian Minister of Foreign Affairs Claude Joseph and Henry respectively, Chang said.
The Ministry of the Interior has a rescue team ready to depart for Haiti as soon as the Haitian government accepts international assistance, he said.
Fifty search-and-rescue personnel, one search-and-rescue dog and 5 tonnes of equipment, including devices to find people buried under rubble, are ready to be dispatched on a charter plane, the National Fire Agency said.
There have been no reports of Taiwanese being injured or killed in the earthquake, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
It called on Taiwanese in Haiti to contact the nation’s embassy if they need assistance.
People can preregister to receive their NT$10,000 (US$325) cash distributed from the central government on Nov. 5 after President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday signed the Special Budget for Strengthening Economic, Social and National Security Resilience, the Executive Yuan told a news conference last night. The special budget, passed by the Legislative Yuan on Friday last week with a cash handout budget of NT$236 billion, was officially submitted to the Executive Yuan and the Presidential Office yesterday afternoon. People can register through the official Web site at https://10000.gov.tw to have the funds deposited into their bank accounts, withdraw the funds at automated teller
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