Taiwan government, Buddhist group sends aid to Myanmar (Roundup)

May 7, 2008, 13:39 GMT

Taipei - The Taiwan government and a Buddhist group said Wednesday they have sent aid to Myanmar where a cyclone killed more than 22,500 people and left 41,000 missing.

Taiwan has donated 200,000 US dollars to help Myanmar rebuild cyclone-stricken regions. As Taiwan and Myanmar do not have diplomatic ties, Taiwan will pass the donation to Myanmar through the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the foreign ministry said.

Taiwan will also send a search and rescue team to Myanmar. The 8- member advance unit of the search and rescue team were to depart for the cyclone-ravaged country Thursday.

Meanwhile a Taiwan Buddhist group the Tzu Chi Foundation has begun to rush aid to cyclone victims in Myanmar, the foundation said on Wednesday.

'Some 100 Thailand-based Tzu Chi members and volunteers have gone to Myanmar to distribute relief material and medicine to cyclone victims,' Tzu Chi spokesman Ho Jih-sheng said.

'We also plan to mobilize more Tzu Chi members and volunteers and doctors in Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia to go to Myanmar to carry out relief work,' he said.

'On top of our first-wave relief work, we are also evaluating the damage in Myanmar to plan short-term, mid-term and long-term relief and reconstruction,' he added.

Tzu Chi (Compassionate Relief), founded by Master Cheng Yen in 1966, is the world's largest Buddhist relief organization.

It has branches in more than 40 countries, with 10 million members and 500,000 volunteers carrying out social, education and relief work all over the world.

When a natural disaster hits a foreign country, Tzu Chi mobilizes its members and volunteers in that country or nearby to buy food, medicine, tents and blankets to rush to the victims, while the Tzu Chi headquarters in Taiwan plans long-term relief and reconstruction projects for the disaster victims.