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Letters and Blogs
(China Daily)
Updated: 2009-08-25 08:02 Disaster reveals solidarity of the Chinese nation As Typhoon Morakot swept across Taiwan on Aug 8, the island has been hit hard with hundreds of casualties and staggering economic losses, especially in southern Taiwan. The storm triggered torrential rains, mammoth floods and severe landslides, leaving tens of thousands of houses collapsed and hundreds of people missing. The calamity deeply worried many hearts in the mainland. The mainland-based Association for Relations across the Taiwan Straits donated 106 million yuan ($15.6 million) to Taiwan-based Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) immediately after the disaster. Meanwhile, the Chinese Red Cross Foundation also contributed 21.85 million yuan for humanitarian aid. A lot of State-owned enterprises on the mainland, such as Sinopec, PetroChina and China Mobile, provided relief funds worth 10 million yuan to the battered areas. The first dispatch of relief has been sent to Kaohsiung. The governments of Hong Kong and Macao also financed HK$ 50 million ($6.45 million) and Macao Pataca 10 million ($1.26 million) to the disaster-stricken island. Many celebrities across the Straits, such as Andy Lau, Alan Tam and A-Mei, joined hands to provide aid to the people in Taiwan. It is a reminder that one year ago when the mainland was rocked by the most severe earthquake in decades, people from Taiwan, Hong Kong, Macao as well as overseas Chinese rushed to raise assistance for the mainland, which greatly alleviated the situation of the affected people. The Morakot disaster relief campaign from the mainland, Hong Kong and Macao as well as overseas Chinese, I believe, demonstrates not only sympathy for the people of Taiwan, but also reflects the solidarity of the entire Chinese nation. We are sure to realize the national reunification of the entire Chinese nation in the foreseeable future. Frank Young via e-mail (China Daily 08/25/2009 page8) |
