Nearly NT$66 million (US$2.06 million) has so far been donated to Hualien County through local accounts to support relief efforts after the area was hit by the nation’s strongest earthquake in 25 years, the Ministry of Health and Welfare said yesterday.
The one-month donation campaign began on Thursday and saw NT$65.9 million pour into the designated accounts set up by the ministry as of 4pm yesterday, after an earthquake, which Taiwan’s earthquake monitoring center measured at magnitude 7.2, while the US Geological Service put it at 7.4, struck on Wednesday morning.
More than NT$39.57 million in donations had been made through Line Pay and NT$12.34 million had been made through online fundraising platform WaBay, while NT$13.98 million had been transferred to a Land Bank of Taiwan account, the Taiwan Foundation for Disaster Relief said in a statement yesterday.
Photo: Carlos Garcia Rawlins, REUTERS
The Line Pay and WaBay donation platforms were open starting at 7pm on Thursday.
In an earlier statement, the foundation thanked the Ministry of Finance and Financial Information Service Co for waiving interbank transaction fees for donation transfers.
Donors who were charged a transaction fee are to receive a refund within a month, the relief foundation said, adding that the service company has donated NT$3 million to Hualien.
CTBC Bank, Union Bank of Taiwan, Taipei Fubon Bank and Taishin Bank have also agreed not to charge transaction fees for donations made through Line Pay, the relief foundation said.
The Land Bank of Taiwan’s account would be closed on May 3, while Line Pay and WaBay would close their donation platforms on May 2 and April 30 respectively, the foundation said.
The central government is also disbursing relief funds to quake-affected areas.
In addition to the NT$300 million for disaster relief already sent, NT$200,000 bereavement payments would be given to the families of each of the deceased and missing, the Executive Yuan said yesterday.
Relief funds of NT$400,000 would also be allocated per deceased or missing person, and NT$100,000 to those with serious injuries, it said.
The government is also providing 30 kinds of assistance to those affected, including help with relocation and reconstruction, it added.
Domestic donations can be made to account No.102-005-19895-7 at the Land Bank of Taiwan Changchuen Branch (code: 005), while overseas donations can be made to the SWIFT code LBOTTWTP102 to the account named Taiwan Foundation for Disaster Relief at the same bank branch.
The crowdfunding platform for donations can be accessed at: https://wabay.tw/projects/0403twhl_earthquake?%20locale=zh-TW.
LinePay users can click on the “Donations” button and choose the “0403 Hualien Earthquake Fundraising Program” (0403 花蓮震 災募款專案).
Snow fell in the mountainous areas of northern, central and eastern Taiwan in the early hours of yesterday, as cold air currents moved south. In the northern municipality of Taoyuan, snow started falling at about 6am in Fusing District (復興), district head Su Tso-hsi (蘇佐璽) said. By 10am, Lalashan National Forest Recreation Area, as well as Hualing (華陵), Sanguang (三光) and Gaoyi (高義) boroughs had seen snowfall, Su said. In central Taiwan, Shei-Pa National Park in Miaoli County and Hehuanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Nantou County saw snowfall of 5cm and 6cm respectively, by 10am, staff at the parks said. It began snowing
Global bodies should stop excluding Taiwan for political reasons, President William Lai (賴清德) told Pope Francis in a letter, adding that he agrees war has no winners. The Vatican is one of only 12 countries to retain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, and Taipei has watched with concern efforts by Beijing and the Holy See to improve ties. In October, the Vatican and China extended an accord on the appointment of Catholic bishops in China for four years, pointing to a new level of trust between the two parties. Lai, writing to the pope in response to the pontiff’s message on Jan. 1’s
HOLIDAY EXERCISE: National forest recreation areas from north to south offer travelers a wide choice of sights to connect with nature and enjoy its benefits Hiking is a good way to improve one’s health, the Forestry and Nature Conservation Agency said, as it released a list of national forest recreation areas that travelers can visit during the Lunar New Year holiday. Taking a green shower of phytoncides in the woods could boost one’s immunity system and metabolism, agency Director-General Lin Hwa-ching (林華慶) cited a Japanese study as saying. For people visiting northern Taiwan, Lin recommended the Dongyanshan National Forest Recreation Area in Taoyuan’s Fusing District (復興). Once an important plantation in the north, Dongyanshan (東眼山) has a number of historic monuments, he said. The area is broadly covered by
A Vietnamese migrant worker on Thursday won the NT$12 million (US$383,590) jackpot on a scratch-off lottery ticket she bought from a lottery shop in Changhua County’s Puyan Township (埔鹽), Taiwan Lottery Co said yesterday. The lottery winner, who is in her 30s and married, said she would continue to work in Taiwan and send her winnings to her family in Vietnam to improve their life. More Taiwanese and migrant workers have flocked to the lottery shop on Sec 2 of Jhangshuei Road (彰水路) to share in the luck. The shop owner, surnamed Chen (陳), said that his shop has been open for just
RSS