The government has pledged a total donation of US$300,000 to two of its diplomatic allies in the Caribbean, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Saint Lucia, which were hard hit by a major hurricane earlier in the week.
A donation of US$200,000 would be made to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while US$100,000 would be given to Saint Lucia, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, following reports of widespread damage in the two island countries after the passage of the record-breaking Hurricane Beryl on Monday.
Beryl, the first Category 4 hurricane recorded in the Caribbean in the month of June and the earliest to reach Category 5 in July, churned across the Windward Islands on Monday, packing winds of up to 240 kilometers per hour and wreaking extensive damage.
Photo: AP
In its wake, two deaths were confirmed in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, while countless homes and other structures were destroyed. Photos and videos of the damage show roofless and shattered houses, flooded streets, downed power lines and trees, and other debris scattered across large areas of the countries.
The ministry said the government has expressed concern to the prime ministers of its two affected allies about the damage caused by the powerful storm.
The ministry also expressed sympathy on behalf of the government and Taiwanese to the two allies and pledged support on X.
“Our hearts are with those in the Caribbean who were devastated by catastrophic Hurricane Beryl. At this tragic time, we announce donations to #SaintVincentAndTheGrenadines & #SaintLucia for relief efforts. #Taiwan prays for a swift recovery for our allies,” the post read.
So far all Taiwanese in the two Caribbean countries — expatriates, businesspeople and Taiwan embassy staff — have been confirmed as safe, the ministry said.
Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves said it would take a “herculean effort” to rebuild after the substantial destruction and that “90-odd percent of the houses were blown away” on Union Island.
“Most of the country doesn’t have electricity, and more than half without water at the moment,” he said.
Meanwhile, Mexican officials were scrambling to prepare, with Beryl expected to bring damaging winds, a dangerous storm surge and heavy rainfall over the Yucatan Peninsula and Belize.
In Jamaica, “life-threatening flash flooding and mudslides from heavy rainfall” were expected overnight, the US National Hurricane Center said.
Additional reporting by AFP
Actor Darren Wang (王大陸) was sentenced to six months in prison, commutable to a fine, by the New Taipei District Court today for contravening the Personal Data Protection Act (個人資料保護法) in a case linked to an alleged draft-dodging scheme. Wang allegedly paid NT$3.6 million (US$114,380) to an illegal group to help him evade mandatory military service through falsified medical documents, prosecutors said. He transferred the funds to Chen Chih-ming (陳志明), the alleged mastermind of a draft-evasion ring, although he lost contact with him as he was already in detention on fraud charges, they said. Chen is accused of helping a
SECURITY: Starlink owner Elon Musk has taken pro-Beijing positions, and allowing pro-China companies to control Taiwan’s critical infrastructure is risky, a legislator said Starlink was reluctant to offer services in Taiwan because of the nation’s extremely high penetration rates in 4G and 5G services, the Ministry of Digital Affairs said yesterday. The ministry made the comments at a meeting of the legislature’s Transportation Committee, which reviewed amendments to Article 36 of the Telecommunications Management Act (電信管理法). Article 36 bans foreigners from holding more than 49 percent of shares in public telecommunications networks, while shares foreigners directly and indirectly hold are also capped at 60 percent of the total, unless specified otherwise by law. The amendments, sponsored by Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) Legislator Ko
NON-RED SUPPLY: Boosting the nation’s drone industry is becoming increasingly urgent as China’s UAV dominance could become an issue in a crisis, an analyst said Taiwan’s drone exports to Europe grew 41.7-fold from 2024 to last year, with demand from Ukraine’s fight against Russian aggression the most likely driver of growth, a study showed. The Institute for Democracy, Society and Emerging Technology (DSET) in a statement on Wednesday said it found that many of Taiwan’s uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) sales were from Poland and the Czech Republic. These countries likely transferred the drones to Ukraine to aid it in its fight against the Russian invasion that started in 2022, it said. Despite the gains, Taiwan is not the dominant drone exporter to these markets, ranking second and fourth
The eastern extension of the Taipei MRT Red Line could begin operations as early as late June, the Taipei Department of Rapid Transit Systems said yesterday. Taipei Rapid Transit Corp said it is considering offering one month of free rides on the new section to mark its opening. Construction progress on the 1.4km extension, which is to run from the current terminal Xiangshan Station to a new eastern terminal, Guangci/Fengtian Temple Station, was 90.6 percent complete by the end of last month, the department said in a report to the Taipei City Council's Transportation Committee. While construction began in October 2016 with an
RSS