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.
Typhoon Chanthu could make landfall as far north as Yilan or Hualien counties late tomorrow night, the Central Weather Bureau (CWB) said yesterday, adding that a land alert could be issued this afternoon or tomorrow morning. The bureau also said that it could possibly issue a sea alert late last night or early this morning. As of 2pm yesterday, Chanthu was 960km southeast of Pingtung County’s Oluanpi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 15kph, but was projected to shift northward as it approached the Taiwan Strait due to a weakening Pacific high-pressure system, the bureau said. The bureau is closely monitoring the typhoon,
The Han Kuang exercises, the nation’s major war games, are to start today and run for five days. The drills are to include a military aircraft emergency takeoff and landing exercise on a regular roadway on Wednesday, featuring all three fighter jet models in Taiwan’s fleet, a military source said last week. The drill is to begin at 6:30am on a 3km section of Provincial Highway No. 1 in Pingtung County’s Jiadong Township (佳冬), and feature an Indigenous Defense Fighter, an F-16V, a Mirage 2000-5 and an E-2K Hawkeye early warning aircraft, the source said. The emergency landing and takeoff drill aims to
MRNA VACCINE: Heart inflammation is rare, but possible after a Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 shot, and students need to be aware of possible side effects, an expert said As Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccinations for students aged 12 to 17 are to begin on campuses on Thursday next week, the Central Epidemic Command Center (CECC) yesterday urged recipients to be especially watchful for five signs of possible myocarditis or pericarditis, which are rare adverse reactions to some COVID-19 vaccines. The Ministry of Health and Welfare’s Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices convener Lee Ping-ing (李秉穎) joined the CECC’s daily news briefing to report on possible side effects after receiving a BioNTech vaccine. Lee said that cases of myocarditis and pericarditis have been observed in people in the US who have received mRNA COVID-19
Taiwan on Friday accused China of seeking to use the Honduran election to “create controversy” and undermine Taiwan’s long-standing ties with the country, saying it would strive to win support for Honduras’ relations with Taipei. Honduras’ main left-wing opposition party, the Liberty and Refoundation Party (LIBRE), led by ousted former Honduran president Manuel Zelaya, has said that if it wins November’s presidential election it would seek to “readjust” the country’s debt and establish diplomatic relations with China. Honduras is one of 15 UN member countries that maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taiwan. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which has already warned Honduras not
RSS