Help should be sent quickly

During his visit to the Red Cross yesterday, Ma said that while it was probably impossible for our aircraft to reach the epicenter of the quake itself, charter flights could be arranged to nearby airports so that supplies and personnel could quickly reach their destination.

This was precisely how aid was funneled into Taichung and Nantou counties in 1999, with much of the supplies flown in to Chingchuankang Air Force Base in central Taiwan.

In a worst-case scenario, supplies could still be transferred at airports in Hong Kong and Macao, although this would be a colossal waste of time and funds earmarked for aid to the victims.

We also remember that in 1999, mainland China generously donated about US$3 million through its Red Cross organization to our own Red Cross.

Rather than merely match this amount, we hope to see much more humanitarian support sent to the other side.

This would not only reflect the broad sympathy that people here have for the earthquake victims, but would also function as a gesture of our desire for peace and a cooperative relationship between the two sides.

As the days turn into weeks, we hope that authorities and charities here will help send in temporary housing for earthquake victims similar to the housing that was quickly built for the September 1999 victims in central Taiwan.

Despite Taiwan’s affluence, many impoverished earthquake victims had to live in their “temporary” housing for several years before finally moving back in to permanent housing.

We were especially pleased to see our numerous charities working hard to get aid into Sichuan province as quickly as possible. Many charities have donated funds to the Red Cross and other international organizations, which will take the money and use it to purchase emergency supplies, food, clothing and fresh water within mainland China.

We hope that authorities in mainland China will not delay our charitable organizations as they seek to gain access to devastated areas and distribute emergency supplies.

Only good things could happen if both sides temporarily set aside their political differences and cope with this humanitarian tragedy.

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