Asia-Pacific News
Taiwan search, rescue team ready to fly to quake-hit Sichuan
May 12, 2008, 21:57 GMT
Taipei - Taiwan's National Search and Rescue Team is ready to fly to China to help rescue survivors in Sichuan Province, which was hit by a devastating earthquake, press reports said Tuesday.
The National Search and Rescue Team is standing ready to fly to China as soon as the Interior Ministry and the Mainland Affairs Council gives the go-ahead, said the Central News Agency (CNA).
The team mobilized its members and equipment after Monday's earthquake. 'It hopes to rush to China and rescue survivors within the 72-hour Golden Time for Rescue,' CNA said.
The search and rescue team is awaiting a request from China for help, so that the Taiwan government can respond to the request and dispatch the rescue team.
According to international conventions, foreign countries cannot dispatch search and rescue teams to a country unless that country requests help from the international community.
Local search and rescue teams from several Taiwan cities and countries are also ready to rush to China, CNA said.
Taiwan's National Search and Rescue Team is made up of firefighters in the National Fire Administration. It has gone abroad several times to help search for earthquake victims.
An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck Wenchuan County, Sichuan Province, at 2:28 pm (0628 GMT) Monday. The death toll has climbed to nearly 10,000 as of midnight Monday. The quake was felt in many parts of China as well as South-East Asia.
The Taiwan government and civic groups are evaluating the damage in Sichuan to decide how to raise money and send aid to China.
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Older Talkback
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Why Taiwanese authorities are waiting a request or permission from Chinese mainland authorities??? Aren't they the same country???
It's very unhuman to take advange of this disaster to press China for admitting Taiwan as a country.
China is unhuman. Free tibet!
Brothers helping brothers. Just go by the heart. Charity is always good.
Take this opportunity to help with the relationship.
Thanks Taiwan
So what should Taiwan do instead? It can't enter China without China's permission. All that it can do is offer help to China.
Besides, it is no more inhuman for Taiwan to offer the help of the Taiwanese government and people than it is for China to refuse help unless Taiwan agrees that it is a province of China.
Taiwan is not part of China. It's an independent country from PRC (People's Republic of China).
Lol, China's governement is composed of unhumanitarian leadership. It is unhumane of china leadership to even think twice about allowing taiwan to aid at a time of such devastation. China is not giving the go ahead in fear that it will owe taiwan something. Apparently you are also unfamiliar for the even worse situation in Myanmar. They lost close to 100000 people and are still not allowing international assistance as of saturday anyway........
What is with these stubborn and arrogant asian dictatorships? I fear fear china in 10 years. Their dominance could backfire on the world and this arrogant behavior only supports my theory.....
Taiwan is a seperate entity apart from China. Take some time and look up its history from WWII through the Cultural Revolution and Pres. Jimmy Carter's betrayal of former treaties and agreements with Taiwan by recognizing Beijing as the only 'true China.' It's rather interesting.
Taiwan is not part of China People's Republic. Tibet is not part of it either. Let Tibet free, let Taiwan free.
Taiwan is not part of China!! got it.
If Taiwan do want to help, just offer help without political conditions. That will be apprecitated by quake-afflicted people and the Chinese government.
It is political gamesmanship over the independence issue. Taiwan wants China to request aid from a foreign nation. China wants Taiwan to request permission to for a team to enter.
If Taiwan 'just went in' they would be considered invading, even by China despite China's stance that Taiwan is part of China still.
Taiwan must wait for China to give permission, anything else would be foolhardy.
It is good that Taiwan can put its differences with China aside and offer sincere help to their neighbors who they share a deep heritage with. I just hope that China is mature enough to accept the offered help in the spirit in which it is being offered.
It's a human tragedy. And PRC could sure use the help of any country, especially a country with experience in earthquakes. But the simple fact is they have to be invited in or there has to be a general request for help. Sure this all can be political. Are we going to allow another country to land here with out a request for help if we have a major national disaster? Or do we have to argue what is a country and what is a province during the process?
Taiwan has own Country, government, defence, foreign policy. it is a country. To help each other is human nature, come on go and help if some one need help.
Why did you say Taiwan is not a part of China? you are stupid.
RongxunMay 13th, 2008 - 01:38:58
Why did you say Taiwan is not a part of China? you are stupid.
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It's funny that the person who criticizes other people as 'stupid' does not even know (or doesn't even want to know) simple contemporary facts.
I am a member in the rescue team from Taiwan. Please do not focus on this news topic as politics. Human life is the most important thing we have to save. The golden 72 hours for saving a life is very crucial for us. Now we are in the airport, ready to fly.
Taiwan had suffered a big earthquake in Sep-21st, 1999. So we setup national team for the emergency of earthquake, equipped with the most advanced tools and devices in the world.
Chinese people or other people in the world are all the people in the earth. Please open your mind to see the world and the people.
WORLD PEACE ! NO MORE DISASTERS !
Help China, for that is humanitarian, then their government
should convert to a FREE democratic society!!!
Human's life first!
But if someone use the disaster to get political gain, so shut up and get out! u humiliate the man's lives;shame on u !!!!
when you are talking Chinese Goverment unhumane, our people are all ready do our best to save people`s life.
Please remind the disaster in New Orleans, Mr.Bush and his staff took long time to action. Our goverment take action immediately.
The military all ready fly to the earthquate center to save people`s life
Mr Wenjiaobao, said ' We must advance to the disaster area ! A second means a life! ' the old man head for the disaser area 1 hours after he knew the earthquate!
BTW, lots of Tibetan living in that erea!
I know the fatality immediately via the internet. It is real time update!
This is China!
The relationship between China and Taiwan is special at the moment.Just because both sides have not established the straight flight ways, people from two sides can not travel directly, we have the confidence and wish Taiwanese and Chinese would fly to each other earlier. So the waiting for requirment is not equal to admit Taiwan is a independent nation. Taiwan was is and will be one part of China forever.
Tibet is the same. None could made any remarks or comments regarding to Tibet if he or she never came to Tibet or China. Human rights are not the slogan but we should investigate into what happend in Tibet actually. Dalai was not in China Tibet for many years, how does he konw what happened there, we should judge this by ourselves.
I guess the way the C.C.P is playing politics with the lives of Chinese people for the sake of political games is similiar to the way that the C.C.P played with the lives of Taiwanese during the SARS epidemic by blocking Taiwan's meaningful access to the W.H.O.
Dude people. Use common senses... If Taiwan is part of China, why can't those Taiwan Rescue Team just go there without the need for authority request. Is the Chinese government retards?
Taiwan is a free country as made evidence by this. China cannot enter Taiwan and Taiwan cannot enter China without permission. It looks pretty clear to me. People in Taiwan can also VOTE for their leaders in a two party system, have separate currency, and have separate passports. I don't remember China offering help to Taiwan when Taiwan had an huge earthquake, in fact during the whole SARS scare, China tried to bar foreign health officials from entering Taiwan to help. I know which friend I would choose if I had to make a choice.
I am a foreigner currently in China following the news of the quake both on TV and online. I must say there are several doubts that arose from the deadly quake :
1) the chinese authorities initially refusing foreign rescue teams is the MAIN one for me. Knowing that the first 72 hours is critical for the quake victims' survival, refusal to foreign expertise is inexplainable. The few reasons that i can think of is that they are afraid to show to the world that they are lagging in resuce knowledge and they do not have the advanced equipment. So what they have the world largest population? Like what the British resuce team said :'tunnelling their way through is a better option than using cranes to pull up those rubble'. Another reason would be (like what my friend commented which I feel quite ignorant and offensive) is that those foreign teams are merely here on 'holiday', training up their skills and not really concerned in rescuing chinese people.
2) the local earthquake authority did not inform or forewarn that an earthquake is coming. Tectronics has even reported about TEN MONTHS ago that Sichuan (specifically Beichuan) would experience an earthquake. What are the authority doing? An early warning would have save thousands of lives of their OWN people.
3) 80% to 90% of the schools collapsed during this quake. Moreover some of these buildings are much newer than other older buildings which withstood the quake. Parents of those dead children are so aggrieved that they are accusing of the local authorities of corruption together with those shoddy construction companies. Good thing that the chinese government will look into the matter after the resuce works are completed.
4) Donations are pouring in from all over the world. But really how much is really going into saving those stricken people as we know the chinese are known for their corruption and 'cover-up' work. No, I am not discouraging donation but it should be within your limit and your willingness to let it go knowing that it could end up in some official's pockets.
5) TV is only showing heroic acts from those chinese rescuers and those sadness from those victims. They seldom telecast corpses, the aggrieved's comments and other negativities. No freedom of speech on their media even though it has improved alot recently.
I am a chinese, my forefathers are from mainland China. But I do not see eye to eye to all things here. I agree with one Netizen that yes, China will dominate the world in 10 years but with its current political handling, they could spark a BIG unrest in the future.
The Chinese govt. are communists (left-wing) not dictators (right-wing).
Besides whats wrong with being a communist state. Democracy in China would be chaos. 1.4 billion people all having their say. Too hard.
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Taiwan is part of ChinaMay 13th, 2008 - 00:31:00
Taiwan is part of China, just do it
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