April 20th, 2013
No. 27
A major earthquake struck the city of Ya'an in Sichuan Province in the Mainland just after 8:00 am this morning, causing severe casualties and destruction of homes. President Ma Ying-jeou requested the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) to look into the situation upon learning the news, and also instructed the MAC to extend concern and condolences to the Mainland side on his behalf.
The MAC said that it had immediately contacted the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF) this morning, instructing the Foundation to send a letter to the Association for Relations Across the Taiwan Straits (ARATS) to extend sincere concern and condolences from the Taiwan side and express the ROC government's willingness to provide various assistances. The SEF also utilized different channels to fully grasp the situation of Taiwanese businesspeople and tourists in the area, and found there to be no reported Taiwanese casualties as of yet. A delegation led by SEF Vice Chairman Kao Koong-liang is currently in Sichuan visiting Taiwanese businesspeople there. All members of the delegation are known to be safe; they are keeping abreast of the disaster situation and will provide assistance as needed.
The MAC also stated that it has kept close contact with the National Fire Agency (NFA) under the Ministry of the Interior, and understand that there is an NFA rescue team standing ready to provide immediate rescue assistance if needed by the Mainland side. The MAC will continue to update the Mainland disaster situation with relevant ministries and departments and provide various forms of assistance as needed.