Letters and Blogs

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.