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Taiwan offers NT$100m in aid, calls for
public help
By Shih Hsiu-chuan and Mo Yan-chih / Staff
Reporters
The Taiwanese government yesterday appealed for public donations for the relief
efforts in Japan as Taipei increased its donation from US$300,000 to NT$100
million (US$3,382,000) in light of the increasing scale of the disaster caused
by Friday’s earthquake and tsunami.
“Taiwan has close relations with Japan, Japan is our important neighbor and
there has been a close bond between the people of the two countries. The
Japanese government and civil groups gave a helping hand to Taiwan at the time
of the 921 Earthquake [in 1999] and August 8 Flood [in 2009] ... We hereby
appeal to Taiwanese to donate to help those in Japan,” Deputy Minister of
Foreign Affairs Shen Ssu-tsun (沈斯淳) said at a press conference.
The 921 earthquake refers to a magnitude 7.3 quake that struck Taiwan on Sept.
21, 1999. The quake claimed 2,444 lives and injured 11,305, according to
government statistics. More than 51,000 homes collapsed and 53,768 were severely
damaged.
Asked about the situation of Taiwanese in Japan, Huang Ming-lung (黃明朗),
secretary-general of the ministry’s East Asian Relations Commission, said: “No
casualties nor injuries have been reported thus far, but we are still unable to
reach several hundred Taiwanese compatriots and two students.”
According to the ministry, 39 Taiwanese tour groups totaling 1,066 people in
Tokyo, a tour group of 16 people in Akita and another tour group of 30 in Sendai
were all confirmed safe, but two academics surnamed Lee (李) and Hsieh (謝), who
were in Sendai for an academic meeting, were unaccounted for at press time.
The ministry said that there were 653 Taiwanese compatriots and 50 students in
the main disaster areas, adding that 115 resided in Fukushima where residents
within a 20km radius of a nuclear power plant were told to evacuate their homes
yesterday after radiation levels rose following a massive explosion at the power
plant.
The ministry is keeping a close eye on the situation in Japan, particularly in
its hardest-hit northeastern coastal regions, and would respond to an emergency
in a speedy and efficient manner, Shen said.
The government appeared to offer conflicting accounts on the nation’s aid offer
to Japan, as both President Ma Ying-jeou (馬英九) and Premier Wu Den-yih (吳敦義) said
yesterday that Japan had formally asked Taiwan on Friday for assistance,
including rescue teams and rescue dogs, and Wu said the Taiwanese rescue teams
could leave for Japan yesterday or today.
However, Shen said he was not aware of the discussions that both Ma and Wu
mentioned.
According to Huang, Taiwan first offered to send rescue teams to Japan, but
Tokyo told Taipei to hold off for the time being.
Shen said the ministry was told by Japanese Representative to Taiwan Tadashi
Imai that Tokyo did not need the help and that Japan would stay in contact with
Taipei if it needed assistance as the situation developed.
Several Taiwan International Emergency Rescue Team groups were also ready to
leave for Japan as officials in Taipei continued to contact their Japanese
counterparts to offer assistance for rescue efforts, Shen added.
Meanwhile, former Japanese prime minister Toshiki Kaifu, who is on a three-day
visit in Taipei, called a press conference yesterday to express gratitude to Ma,
who Kaifu said twice made telephone calls to offer his condolences to Japan and
the Japanese people.
Kaifu said he was not in a position to comment on why Tokyo declined Taipei’s
help, a decision he believed was made by the Japanese Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, saying that he personally thought that “the offer should be accepted.”
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