A first batch of donations from Taiwan for survivors of a magnitude 7.8 earthquake in Turkey arrived in the country yesterday morning, the Buddhist Compassion Relief Tzu Chi Foundation said.
The donations, including 1,358 boxes containing 8,148 blankets, arrived at 5:30am as part of international relief efforts after the earthquake struck on Monday last week, the foundation said.
After their arrival, the supplies would be transported on a domestic flight to Adana airport, the operational airport that is closest to the affected area, where they would be distributed by local authorities, it said.
Photo: I-Hwa Cheng, REUTERS
The foundation said it is working with the Turkish Trade Office in Taipei to accept donations at the Buddhist group’s office in Taipei’s Neihu District (內湖).
It said it accepts newly bought winter clothes for adults and children, beds, sleeping pads, sleeping bags, mattresses, blankets, thermos flasks, flashlights, diapers, sanitary pads, and cleaning and hygiene items.
The 150 tonnes of donations was loaded onto an airplane at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport on Saturday.
Photo courtesy of Taiwan Space Agency
The Turkish office at the time said it expected them to arrive in Turkey yesterday evening.
Turkish Representative to Taiwan Muhammed Berdibek yesterday said the amount of donations the office received was overwhelming.
It temporarily stopped accepting donations at 5pm yesterday, ahead of the original deadline on Wednesday, he added.
However, the office later said that people who had already bought relief items for Turkey could bring them in until 5pm today.
Berdibek said the relief process is expected to take months or years.
If Turkey needs more assistance from Taiwan, the office would make an announcement, because “we know you are so generous and so kind,” he said.
Meanwhile, Huang Qiu-liang (黃秋良), a volunteer at the foundation who is helping handle donations at its Neihu liaison office, said that more than 1,000 volunteers had been helping at the office each day since Friday.
They accept donations and prepare them for transport to Taoyuan airport, Huang said
Today, the Taiwanese military is scheduled to dispatch 10 trucks and 30 personnel to help transfer supplies to the airport, he said.
They would be loaded onto a Turkish Airlines plane and sent to Turkey as soon as possible, Huang added.
Huang said only new items would be accepted, citing hygiene and COVID-19 concerns.
The High Prosecutors’ Office yesterday withdrew an appeal against the acquittal of a former bank manager 22 years after his death, marking Taiwan’s first instance of prosecutors rendering posthumous justice to a wrongfully convicted defendant. Chu Ching-en (諸慶恩) — formerly a manager at the Taipei branch of BNP Paribas — was in 1999 accused by Weng Mao-chung (翁茂鍾), then-president of Chia Her Industrial Co, of forging a request for a fixed deposit of US$10 million by I-Hwa Industrial Co, a subsidiary of Chia Her, which was used as collateral. Chu was ruled not guilty in the first trial, but was found guilty
DEADLOCK: As the commission is unable to forum a quorum to review license renewal applications, the channel operators are not at fault and can air past their license date The National Communications Commission (NCC) yesterday said that the Public Television Service (PTS) and 36 other television and radio broadcasters could continue airing, despite the commission’s inability to meet a quorum to review their license renewal applications. The licenses of PTS and the other channels are set to expire between this month and June. The National Communications Commission Organization Act (國家通訊傳播委員會組織法) stipulates that the commission must meet the mandated quorum of four to hold a valid meeting. The seven-member commission currently has only three commissioners. “We have informed the channel operators of the progress we have made in reviewing their license renewal applications, and
Taiwan People’s Party (TPP) Chairman Huang Kuo-chang (黃國昌) yesterday appealed to the authorities to release former Taipei mayor Ko Wen-je (柯文哲) from pretrial detention amid conflicting reports about his health. The TPP at a news conference on Thursday said that Ko should be released to a hospital for treatment, adding that he has blood in his urine and had spells of pain and nausea followed by vomiting over the past three months. Hsieh Yen-yau (謝炎堯), a retired professor of internal medicine and Ko’s former teacher, said that Ko’s symptoms aligned with gallstones, kidney inflammation and potentially dangerous heart conditions. Ko, charged with
Taiwan-based publisher Li Yanhe (李延賀) has been sentenced to three years in prison, fined 50,000 yuan (US$6,890) in personal assets and deprived political rights for one year for “inciting secession” in China, China's Taiwan Affairs Office spokesman Chen Binhua (陳斌華) said today. The Shanghai First Intermediate People’s Court announced the verdict on Feb. 17, Chen said. The trial was conducted lawfully, and in an open and fair manner, he said, adding that the verdict has since come into legal effect. The defendant reportedly admitted guilt and would appeal within the statutory appeal period, he said, adding that the defendant and his family have
RSS