Chinese mainland donates $26 mln to typhoon-hit Taiwan_English

BEIJING, Aug. 19 (Xinhua) -- The Chinese mainland has so far donated about 176 million yuan (26 million U.S. dollars) and 25 million yuan of disaster relief materials to Typhoon Morakot-stricken Taiwan, said State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Fan Liqing on Wednesday.

"The mainland wants genuinely and sincerely to help Taiwan people, and has provided good quality relief materials," Fan said.

Workers unload relief materials from China's mainland after the special flight arrived at Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Aug. 18, 2009. The batch of the relief aid, including 10,000 sleeping bags, 10,000 blankets and 1,000 sterilizers, would be rushed to the Typhoon Morakot seriously-stricken areas in the island.

Workers unload relief materials from China's mainland after the special flight arrived at Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Aug. 18, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
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She said prefabricated houses sent to Taiwan from the mainland complied with Taiwan's design standards, as well as met the criteria of its local environmental authority and related international standards.

The island-based Strait Exchange Foundation confirmed the portable houses had been delivered to disaster-affected areas, she said.

The two sides could also discuss setting up a cooperation mechanism for disaster prevention, emergency aid provisions, and post-disaster reconstruction work, to reduce the impact of the disaster and further protect people's lives, Fan said.

Workers unload relief materials from China's mainland after the special flight arrived at Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Aug. 18, 2009.

Workers unload relief materials from China's mainland after the special flight arrived at Kaohsiung, southeast China's Taiwan Province, Aug. 18, 2009. (Xinhua Photo)
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She added the two sides had already launched cooperation programs such as annual symposiums, such as a disastrous weather research symposium, to conduct joint research on disaster-related topics such as typhoons, rainstorms and disaster forecasting technologies.

Typhoon Morakot left at least 136 people dead and 386 missing in Taiwan as of 1:30 p.m. Wednesday, disaster response authorities said.

People donate for typhoon-hit Taiwan in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province Aug. 19, 2009. The Chinese mainland has so far donated about 176 million yuan (26 million U.S. dollars) and 25 million yuan of disaster relief materials to Typhoon Morakot-stricken Taiwan, said State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Fan Liqing on Wednesday.

People donate for typhoon-hit Taiwan in Fuzhou, southeast China's Fujian Province Aug. 19, 2009. The Chinese mainland has so far donated about 176 million yuan (26 million U.S. dollars) and 25 million yuan of disaster relief materials to Typhoon Morakot-stricken Taiwan, said State Council Taiwan Affairs Office spokeswoman Fan Liqing on Wednesday.(Xinhua/Lai Jianqiang)
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