TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Taiwan “stands ready to offer assistance” to China after it faced its deadliest earthquake in nearly a decade on Monday (Dec. 18).
Tsai expressed her condolences on X (Twitter) on Tuesday (Dec.19), writing in both English and simplified Chinese characters, used by China but not Taiwan, which maintains traditional characters. “We pray that all those affected receive the aid they need, and we hope for a swift recovery,” she said.
“Taiwan stands ready to offer assistance in the disaster response effort,” Tsai added.
Tsai said she had instructed the Mainland Affairs Council (MAC), the government agency that manages cross-strait relations, and the Straits Exchange Foundation (SEF), which services Taiwanese living in China, to convey this message to Chinese authorities.
The magnitude 6.2 earthquake left at least 131 people dead and 700 more injured in the Chinese provinces of Gansu and Qinghai, according to state media reports. Residents whose homes were destroyed need blankets, food, and other supplies as they suffer below-freezing temperatures.
The Taipei Fire Department said it has assembled a 160-person search and rescue team, four dogs, and 13 tonnes of supplies to be sent to China, pending approval from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
China has not said whether it will allow overseas rescue teams to enter the country. Beijing ceased official contact with Taiwan after Tsai took office in 2016.
Kuomintang (KMT) presidential candidate Hou Yu-yi (侯友宜) and KMT Vice Chair Andrew Hsia (夏立言), who is visiting China’s Guangdong province, also expressed their party’s condolences to Chinese disaster victims.
“From the televised images, we on the other side of the Taiwan Strait can feel the horror of quake-induced disasters. We want to express our deepest condolences to victims and their families, and pray that the deceased will rest in peace,” Hou said on Facebook.
China is prone to deadly earthquakes, especially in its mountainous regions to the west, where the Eurasian and Indian Ocean tectonic plates meet. This marks China’s deadliest earthquake since 2014 when 617 people were killed in a quake that struck Yunnan province.
In 2008, when a 7.9 magnitude quake left nearly 90,000 dead in Sichuan province, Taiwan also sent a rescue team to China.
