A committee initiated by Vice President Annette Lu (呂秀蓮) and consisting of members of non-governmental organizations appealed yesterday for aid to help earthquake victims in Gujarat, India.
But Taiwan's efforts to further its NGO diplomacy are being overshadowed by the lack of formal ties with India, which has diplomatic relations with Beijing.
Taiwan relief supplies for India will not carry Republic of China logos because of a request by the India-Taipei Association, India's representative office in Taiwan.
Lu announced yesterday at a press conference the establishment of an NGO committee to promote and coordinate aid to India, whose Gujarat state has been devastated by last month's massive earthquake.
The tremor, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, claimed an estimated 30,000 lives and destroyed the homes of more than 500,000 people. It is estimated to have caused up to US$5.4 billion in damage.
"Taiwan is not unfamiliar with earthquakes. We had a major one in 1999 that killed over 2,000 people and severely damaged the country," Lu said.
"Although Taiwan does not have official diplomatic ties with India, humanitarianism transcends national boundaries," she said.
Lu said yesterday that Taiwan should bear in mind the value of what she calls "soft power" (柔性國力) -- human rights, democracy, love, high-technology and women's issues -- and "soft power diplomacy" (柔性外交).
"Every step we take leaves a footprint," Lu said. "Taiwan's people will eventually see the effect of soft power diplomacy."
Lu's spokeswoman Tsai Ming-hwa (
Tsai said Taiwan will respect Indian's concerns, and that Lu will not take an official post on the committee for the same reason.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs plans to offer US$50,000 to India in relief funds. Sources from the ministry said the ministry's donations might be transferred via the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi, a quasi-official representative office.
Sources said earlier that the foreign ministry had responded to the Vatican's appeal for quake funds to India with US$10,000, partly in the hope of strengthening diplomatic ties with India.
Ranjit Gupta, director-general the India-Taipei Association, expressed India's gratitude yesterday for Taiwan's efforts in assisting in the earthquake relief efforts.
He denied that the Indian government had asked Taiwan authorities to leave off the ROC logo from relief supplies out of fear of pressure from China. "We did so because there are no diplomatic ties between Taiwan and India. It is a common diplomatic principle," he said.
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